Tranquil Tower
by Fee5H
Summary: Twenty-four people have booked rooms at the most luxurious of remote island resorts. We hope they enjoy their stay, but they can leave if they don't. They simply have to play a killing game, one that's vastly different from the standard form. If they play wisely, all of them could survive, but will they actually succeed? If not, how many will fall? [SYOC] [22/22]
1. Prologue (Cast List)

**Prologue**

Welcome to Tranquil Tower, the Elite Island Resort! Located on a remote, private island far from civilization, we provide only the best forms of leisurely entertainment and soothing amenities. Rest on our beautiful sandy beaches and marvel at the crystal-clear blue ocean side. Heal your body and soul in our massive, pristine spas, which provide every treatment imaginable, from massages to hot springs. Taste our wide array of succulent cuisine from our built-in restaurants and room service, made possible with recipes from the Elite Chef. Make yourself at home in one of our 10,000 state-of-the-art living areas; even our standard rooms are comfortable marvels. These are just samples of what Tranquil Tower offers guests for an unforgettable experience.

Of course, staying here is very expensive. Fortunately, money is NOT the only form of payment we accept. As a matter of fact, we're allowing twenty-four unique young men and women to live here by having them partake in a special game. How could that be considered a payment, you ask? The answer is rather simple.

_**Life is valuable.**_

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Whelp, here we are. I present to you my first ever SYOC. I was originally going to announce this next year, but I realized that the influx of stories will never end, so I might as well do it now. The method is the same as the others: **send applications through PMs only.**

**EDIT: After thinking things over, I have decided to start this story at an earlier date. The deadline for submitting characters will now be the end of this year. Once New Year's Eve switches to New Year's Day, I will no longer take any submissions.**

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Some Important Notes:

**This is NOT a typical KG.** I've added a few spins to the format, and I'm certain you all will like them. I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say this is a game that can be won with everyone surviving. It's hard to do, but it's possible.

**This story is NOT canonical, but loosely inspired by, Crit Fail's Legacy of Despair series.** What this means is that my story can function on it's own, WITHOUT needing to read any other works. However, you are NOT discouraged from submitting OCs that reference other characters from those works. For all you know, my universe could be an **alternate** version of his, in which many events happened differently. In other words, I am NOT placing any restrictions on an OC's background and history. If you want to make a relative of someone from Crit's works, be my guest.

**Repeat Talents are allowed, but not recommended.** I'm much more likely to accept talents that have never been used before, or are at least very original. The only way I'll accept a repeat talent is if the other aspects of the character are compelling/interesting.

**NO MAGICAL, SUPERNATURAL, OR MUTANT CHARACTERS ALLOWED.** I want this to be a very simple game with vulnerable, powerless characters. Also, limitations actually improve creativity, rather than restrict it.

**My characters will NOT take any slots.** You'll notice that the Accepted Students list says 0/22, despite there being 24 students. I have two characters planned for this story, but I want to ensure that everybody has a fair shot at getting in. So, rather then having my characters take up two slots, I raised the total number up by two. They will NOT count in the list of accepted students, and they will not be revealed until AFTER the 22 have been selected.

**The character sheet is on my profile page. I've made some slight changes, so be sure to read it carefully.**

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**EDIT 2: The cast has been finalized. I will be revealing the accepted characters at a ****frequent pace. Thank you all so much for submitting! And now, without further ado, I present to you our Guests at Tranquil Tower.**

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**DISCLAIMER: You'll notice that some creators got more than one of their OCs accepted. I tried my absolute best to avoid that. However, at the end of the day, the 22 that I accepted are exactly what I needed. The story would not be as effective if they weren't the participants for this game. I hope you can understand these decisions.**

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**Accepted Characters: 22/22 (Revealed: 22)**

**1\. Sanani "Sly" (transl. a creative man)**

**Creator: Trust Me the Spider**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: "19"**

**Birthday: September 21st**

**Nationality: Tibetan**

**Talent: Ultimate Cheater**

**Blood Type: A+**

**Hair Color: Saffron Blonde (#EDB944)**

**Hair Style/Length: Neck-length and tied into a short ponytail with scruffy bangs. Sanani's hair is rather coarse and dry, as if he takes poor care of it.**

**Eye Color: Dodger Blue (#1C9DFF)**

**Skin Tone: Lightly tanned with pink undertones.**

**Body Type: Above average in height. Thin and somewhat lanky in build, though his taut arms and legs speak of an active lifestyle. His hands and fingers are calloused but not to an extreme extent.**

**Scars, Tattoos, or Birthmarks: An old, vertical scar on his right knee from a torn meniscus during his youth.**

**Height: 5'10"**

**Weight: 141 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: At first glance, Sanani's gaudy three-piece suit appears to be from a high-end brand but is actually a cheap imitation that came from a thrift store. The outer jacket is a vivid salmon pink and has a pinstripe pattern, the waistcoat is light gray, the dress shirt is eggshell white, and his dress pants are the same color as his jacket. For footwear, he wears polished black monk straps with two buckles each.**

**Accessories: Sanani wears a simple necktie the same shade of blue as his eyes and a bracelet of 108 wooden mala beads is wrapped around his right wrist. Completing his flamboyant outfit is a (fake) golden pocket watch chained to his vest as well as silver stud earrings (also fake).**

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**2\. Kirika Shinohara**

**Creator: Prince PokePersona**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 17**

**Birthday: August 24th**

**Nationality: Half Japanese & American**

**Talent: Ultimate Caregiver**

**Blood Type: AB+**

**Hair Color: Light Brown (#B69289)**

**Hair Style/Length: Long straight hair that reaches near her waist fashioned into a plaited ponytail with a curled tip, curly bangs framing the sides of her face, a braided crown over her right parted fringe with some loose messy bangs resting on her shoulders.**

**Eye Color: Dark Green (#749268)**

**Skin Tone: Pale Fair White**

**Body Type: A skinny, yet slightly curvy, frame with C cup sized b*** (ample bosom) almost petite and doll like.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: Small scratch and cut marks along her wrists, a tiny scar over her stomach and a small birthmark on her left back side.**

**Height: 5'5"**

**Weight: 104 lbs.**

**Normal Clothing: She wears a dark blue knit long sleeve jumper dress with the dress portion patterned dark red and grey stripes with black buttons, the skirt portion of her dress is an A-Line midi skirt and she wears black stiletto heels on her feet.**

**Accessories: She wears a white maid's headband with two white ribbons on both sides of the band fashioned in her hair, a white apron over her dress covered in cute pink, blue and yellow animal chibi prints on the front with a white bow sash tied around her waist to secure the apron in place, a red bow with golden trimming and ribbon tails fashioned into her plaited ponytail, a sapphire crystal silver plated charm bracelet bangle around her left wrist, a small rose gold flower bracelet around her right wrist, a gold necklace with a small purple tear shaped pendant around her neck and a small sewing kit inside her apron front pocket.**

* * *

**3\. ****Tamaki 'Tam Tam' Takahashi**

**Creator: Abitat Eco**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 18**

**Birthday: April 18th**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Enka Singer**

**Blood Type: B+**

**Hair Color: Firebrick Red (#B22222)**

**Hair Style: Relatively long, reaching to the middle of his shoulder blades when hanging loose, with the front ends hanging just past his chin and ending in slightly spiked ends, framing the corners of his face. He tries to keep it tidy and semi-professional-looking for performances in a neatly styled low ponytail (which can just be seen over his left shoulder), but a few pesky persistent strands still stand out from the top of his head, deviating a little to the sides. Regardless, his hair seems soft and fluffy in nature. His fringe is neatly trimmed in evenly spiky ends as well, with a long central section hanging diagonally down to the right side of his face, stopping just slightly to the right of his nose, Tamaki will also occasionally be seen tucking his hair behind his ears if it bothers him or calmly blowing those irritatingly annoying odd strands from out of his eyes.**

**Eye Color: Dark Golden Rod (#B8860B). His eyes are wide and doe shaped with relatively long eyelashes, giving him a slightly more feminine look in this aspect. His eyebrows are thin and arched, giving him quite a warm and approachable expression.**

**Skin Tone: Blanched Almond (#FFEBCD) with light dimples in his cheeks.**

**Body Type: Tall and straight, with skinny limbs and quite narrow shoulders (having a body type which is similar to that of an ectomorph), and he seems to be a healthy weight in proportion to his height. He doesn't appear particularly muscled, but does have decent muscular tone. His face is mostly oval in shape, with his main facial features consisting of a small pointed nose and pale red lips often spread into a soft smile. His ears also stick out a little among the strands of his hair.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: Tamaki has a few faded scars at his sides underneath his shirt, as well as a few faded burn marks and a neatly scrawled tattoo on the inside of his left forearm reading in elegant writing: 'And They Lived Happily Ever After'. A few small rectangular patches of slightly darkened skin on his neck form birthmarks, their arrangement with his normal lighter skin resembling piano keys slightly.**

**Height: 5.9 ft**

**Weight: 163 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Tamaki often likes to wear clothes similar to his stage outfit, combining the traditional kimono blossom-like style of traditional Japanese Enka with more modern variants as a creative touch. This includes wearing a short cherry blossom patterned kimono tunic which falls to the sides at the waistline (Maroon shaded [#800000] with a white belt and Light Coral blossom pattern [#F08080]). Tamaki tends to wear the tunic sleeves rolled up however, worn underneath a fake leather jacket (Dim Gray shaded [#696969]), the sleeves secured with silver [#C0C0C0] pearly buttons to his elbows to expose his forearms, whilst hanging fully open, although he could freely secure it with similar buttons at the front, as well as a belt which hangs loosely to the sides with a similar shaded silver oval buckle. The jacket has a folded back collar at the neck and two pockets on the sides, embroidered in delicate cross stitching, forming a central similar floral pattern the same shade as his kimono tunic. On his lower body, Tamaki wears a pair of Hakama style trousers in a Gray shade (#808080), with a neat bow tied in the center, the fabric slightly grooved and tapering down towards the ankle. Lastly on his feet, he wears a pair of simple strap sandals in a Gainsbro shade (#DCDCDC), secured around his ankles and across his feet.**

**Accessories: Tamaki has a few additional accessories to add interest to his outfit. This includes a choker necklace composed of Dim Gray fabric with two silver hollow rings in the center, representing the symbol for infinity. He also wears a Black strapped wristwatch with a delicate oval face, a single silver stud earring in his right ear (shaped like a songbird) with a small hearing aid (which barely suffices for Tamaki's needs and a matching Dim Gray fedora hat with a Maroon stripe an identical shade to his kimono tunic, although he will alternate between wearing it or not, depending on his mood. Tamaki also has a Saddle Brown fabric satchel bag (#8B4513), which contains his lyrical notepad and stationary (for scribbling his ballad ideas whenever the inspiration hits), a Polaroid camera, a bag of his mixed berries, a large flask of fruit tea and his lucky stuffed toy mascot, a white puppy with a Maroon bow around its neck.**

**Other Clothing: For nightwear, Tamaki will wear a pair of elegant pajamas: The bottoms being Crimson (#DC143C) in color and decorated in a paler pink cherry blossom pattern (#FFB6C1), whilst the top is White and short sleeved, featuring the central design of a Sienna brown dog curled up asleep, whilst above in embroidered Firebrick letters are the Japanese kanji for 'Sweet Dreams'. He would wear this with Light Gray slipper boots, fluffy pom-poms attached to them. For swimwear, Takami would wear a simple pair of Dark Turquoise (#00CED1) swimming trunks, decorated with a Light Cyan (#E0FFFF) bubble design and secured with a Royal Blue drawstring (#4169E1) and Black sunglasses sitting on top of his head as protection from the sun. Exercise clothing would just feature some baggy Rosy Brown (#BC8F8F) colored trousers with Crimson socks, Light Gray trainers and a simple matching short sleeved tee-shirt bearing a musical note pattern in White would be worn with that. Lastly, for formal wear, Tamaki would probably wear a crisp White blouse with ruffled sleeves and an elegant kimono print waistcoat, worn with Maroon smart trousers and patent Black dress shoes for a more refined look. He has a lot of choice and variation depending on his mood though.**

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**4\. Makika Kikyo**

**Creator: RioA**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 17**

**Birthday: May 10**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Priestess**

**Blood Type: AB+**

**Hair Color: #D61A17 (from the top) to #FE9106 (at the bottom). Her hair is in gradients mainly from red to orange. Her bangs will stay as the color from the top though, even her side bangs.**

**Hair Style/Length: Makika's hair is naturally wavy. Her bangs are cut neatly above her thin eyebrows and are swept slightly to the right, tucked into her side bangs which fall neatly to where her lips would be, curled at the ends and neat. Her hair, nonetheless, is naturally wavy with her hair looking similar to a blaze, her hair naturally and slightly swept to the right as well.**

**Eye Color: Her eye color is #F494FF. Her eyes have white plus signs in the middle of her eyes as her shines.**

**Skin Tone: Her skin is slightly fair and leans to a slight olive color, closer to a peach-like color.**

**Body Type: She has a fairly average body, having an average-sized chest with slight curves on her hips and bottom. She is relatively healthy in build, though quite small given her height.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: N/A**

**Height: 5'2"**

**Weight: 112 lbs.**

**Normal Clothing: Makika would be wearing a white tunic that goes halfway above her knees, then wearing a white with golden phoenix and fire patterned scarf (though the top quarter of the scarf is colored in a golden yellow plainly) that is draped over her right shoulder and tied over her left side. At the bottom, she will be wearing black yoga shorts that reaches just above her knees. For shoes, she will be wearing brown sandals with pastel pink straps.**

**Accessories: Makika would be wearing a circular silver hair clip at the right side of her hair, clipped through her bangs to the side. She would also be wearing a heart-shaped gold pendant necklace over her neck, then two silver and thin-like bracelets over her left wrist.**

* * *

**5\. Shun Pureya**

**Creator: life among the dead**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 15**

**Birthday: August 24th**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Volleyball Player**

**Blood Type: A**

**Hair Color: Dark wood brown (#855E42)**

**Hair Style/Length: Short, a tad messy hairstyle, his bangs straightened over his eyebrows.**

**Eye Color: Golden yellow (#FFDF00)**

**Skin Tone: Slightly dark tan.**

**Body Type: Compact build but quite muscular in his arms and legs.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: None.**

**Height: 5'2"**

**Weight: 126 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: A black jersey that has a dark goldenrod (#A38A00) 13 embroidered onto it with white and red stripes on the sides, corresponding shorts, black elbow and kneepads, white ankle braces, and white and red sneakers. Out of volleyball uniform, he wears a black tanktop, gray jeans, and blue shoes. He wears an oversized lunar green (#52593E) open jacket with a fur-trimmed hood, sometimes slipping off his shoulders.**

**Accessories: Shun wears red and blue hairclips, two on each side of his bangs. He has a bandaid on the bridge of his nose and a white adhesive bandage on the curve of his left cheek. He carries a big duffle bag that holds towels, black water bottles, extra elbow and kneepads, basic medical supplies and clean clothes (his out of uniform clothing). He carries a chateau green (#3A9C4F), bright red (#D04238) and white volleyball around as well.**

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**6\. Ivy McNally**

**Creator: bellatrixshine**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 18**

**Birthday: July 9th**

**Nationality: Irish**

**Talent: Ultimate Geologist**

**Blood Type: O-**

**Hair Color: Pastel violet (#D291BC)**

**Hair Style/Length: Ivy has straight hair that is in a bob haircut.**

**Eye Color: Blue (#1261A0)**

**Skin Tone: Fair skinned**

**Body Type: Ivy has a D-cup chest and a slight belly. Aside from that, she has a relatively normal build for someone of her height.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: She has very light freckles sprinkled across her cheeks.**

**Height: 5'1 (5'3 with her shoes)**

**Weight: 126 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Ivy typically wears a Gothic-styled black dress with a cinched waist, loose long sleeves that reach her wrists, and a skirt that reaches her knees. Along with that, she wears a pair of black tights and a pair of black flats that add two inches to her height.**

**Exercise Clothing: An over-sized orange t-shirt, black leggings, and gray sneakers**

**Sleepwear: A black nightgown**

**Accessories: A simple black velvet choker with various gemstones hanging from it, a lapis lazuli necklace, and a ring with a ruby on it**

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**7\. Rumiko Homura**

**Creator: McLogal**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 18**

**Birthday: February 13th**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Defense Solicitor**

**Blood Type: O-**

**Hair Color: Bright maroon (#C32148) throughout, rose red (#C21E56) fade on her bangs and ****braid.**

**Hair Style/Length: Rumiko has long wavy hair reaching her lower back, her hair is typically done up into a long ponytail. Her bangs rest just above her eyes, one locket of hair to the left of ****her bangs, is done up into a small braid (length of the braid is chin level).**

**Eye Color: Pastel Orange (#FFB347)**

**Skin Tone: Almond (#EFDECD) skin tone, pale skin tone under bra and undergarments.**

**Body Type: Curvy hourglass figure, B-cup breast size, long legs.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: Faint freckles under her eyes and bridge of her nose.**

**Height: 5'4" (5'6" with her heels on)**

**Weight: 115 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Rumiko wears a black (#000000) ruffled trim button front blouse, with the ****ruffle in the front being gunmetal (#565656) with the sleeves rolled up past her elbows. Rumiko ****also wears a mini skirt matching her blouse (checkered pattern between black and gunmetal ****grey). Rumiko wears rose red fishnet stockings and matching undergarments (#C21E56), white ****high heels.**

**Swimwear: Rumiko wears a Orange cream colored bikini ****(#FBC95A) with a simple strap design.**

**Accessories: Rumiko wears thick lense glasses with a circular steel black frame(#262626), the left lens has a quite obvious diagonal crack (the glasses may look comical to some people).**

**Make-up: Medium violet-red lipstick (#C71585) with matching nail polish.**

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**8\. Misham "the Lucky"**

**Creator: El Torro**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 18**

**Birthday: January 23**

**Nationality: Cherokee-American**

**Talent: Ultimate Excavator**

**Blood Type: B+**

**Hair Color: Unknown. He's always seen wearing his helmet**

**Hair Style/Length: Unknown. He's always seen wearing his helmet**

**Eye Color: Unknown. He's always seen wearing his helmet**

**Skin Tone: Unknown. He wears layers upon layers of clothes (including gloves), so nobody's ever seen his skin before**

**Body Type: Misham's incredibly skinny for his height - frail, even. But he looks to be quite a bit heavier than he really is due to his deep sea-diving gear, which is very baggy. Even so, it isn't difficult to notice that he has Pectus excavatum.**

**Scars, Tattoos, or Birthmarks: None**

**Height: 6'8"**

**Weight: 203 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Misham dons a standard black deep sea-diving suit, along with a black full-face helmet that has two circular visors where both of his eyes are. The visors emit a white light, which he doesn't see, and it prevents anyone from seeing the color of his eyes/any part of his face. He's never seen in any other outfit, or without both the suit and his helmet on**

**Accessories: None**

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**9\. Mya Wilson**

**Creator: ****Glass-Lady-of-the-Opera**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 17**

**Birthday: December 4th**

**Nationality: American**

**Talent: Ultimate Fortune Teller**

**Blood Type: AB**

**Hair Color: Dark brown (#422615)**

**Hair Style/Length: Curly, thick, shoulder length worn loose, but with a scarf tied around her forehead.**

**Eye Color: Light green (#C2E277)**

**Skin Tone: Light brown/tanned, lots of freckles**

**Body Type: Short & stocky**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: Small round birthmark on back of right hand, between thumb and first finger.**

**Height: 5'2"**

**Weight: 146 lbs.**

**Normal Clothing: Green and yellow floral wrap skirt over black bike shorts, cream long sleeved peasant blouse, brown sandals.**

**Accessories: Green scarf as headband across her forehead, long necklace with green sea glass pendant.**

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**10\. Kazooie (or "Kaz")**

**Creator: El Torro**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 18**

**Birthday: February 18th**

**Nationality: American (Ethnically Brazillian)**

**Talent: Ultimate Kazooist (plays the Kazoo)**

**Blood Type: A-**

**Hair Color: He bleached it when he was high and thought it'd be funny (it wasn't). ****(#EDECBA)**

**Hair Style/Length: Military-style buzz cut. It's the only thing he keeps kempt.**

**Eye Color: Green (#83A950)**

**Skin Tone: Pale (#F6E2B6)**

**Body Type: A bit chubby, but wears it "well" (not in his gut, more in his legs and biceps/triceps).**

**Scars, Tattoos, or Birthmarks: None**

**Height: 5'10"**

**Weight: 191 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: A soda-stained gray hoodie, along with worn out jeans and dirty gray-and-black running shoes.**

**Accessories: Carries a vape pen and his kazoo in the pocket of his hoodie.**

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**11\. Edwin Crawford**

**Creator: ****WoopaKoopaTroopa**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 18**

**Birthday: October 6th**

**Nationality: British/Chinese**

**Talent: Ultimate Private Investigator**

**Blood Type: B-**

**Hair Color: Black**

**Hair Style/Length: Back-length hair tied into a braid with ear-length bangs that frame the right side of his face.**

**Eye Color: Dark Purple (#301934)**

**Skin Tone: Pale**

**Body Type: Slim with slight muscle**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: N/A**

**Height: 5'11"**

**Weight: 134 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: A white dress shirt under a black waistcoat and a Dark Blue trench coat (#1F305E). Beige trousers (#F5F5DC) and Dark Brown shoes (#654321).**

**Accessories: A Maroon necktie (#800000), a black notebook and fountain pen kept in his pocket, Grey finger-less gloves (#808080), and a silver lighter with an engraving of a dragon on the side.**

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**12\. Jaleh Mazdaki**

**Creator: Superguy**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 24**

**Birthday: February 1st**

**Nationality: Iranian**

**Talent: Ultimate Nuclear Scientist**

**Blood Type: O**

**Hair Color: Black, with streaks of neon blue (#199EF0) flowing through it.**

**Hair Style/Length: Shoulder length**

**Eye Color: Green (#2bCE1E)**

**Skin Tone: Chocolate brown**

**Body Type: Petite with a C cup chest**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: Numerous scars from radiation burns littered across her hands and arms**

**Height: 5'9**

**Weight: 150 Lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Most of the time she wears a skin tight atomic power armour, which doubles as a hazmat suit. It has a glass helmet that is normally reflective to people looking from the outside and the body is a fine metal with a chrome finish. It has various things inscribed into the metal in Arabic. When out of her armour she wears a green shirt with jeans and a pair of brown flat shoes.**

**Exercise Clothing: She would most likely wear the power armour, as that increases her endurance.**

**Sleepwear: Bra and panties. **

**Accessories: A pair of radiation goggles that, when she is not wearing, she wears around her neck. A sort of ray gun that she keeps holstered on her side.**

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**13\. Hinata Nakajima**

**Creator: ****Scissor-Snipper**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 16**

**Birthday: December 2nd**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Stockbroker**

**Blood Type: B**

**Hair Color: Beach Blond. (#F7E575)**

**Hair Style/Length: He's got short, styled hair. With a very visible hairline on the left side of his face, any hair below it is brushed down-wards in a sleek manner, but the hair on the right, with the exception of the shaves side, is a very fluffy faux-hawk brushed up to the left and gelled into place- with a prominent cowlick at the very center of his forehead.**

**Eye Color: Deep Magenta. (#60213D)**

**Skin Tone: Tanned skin (Sun Tan)**

**Body Type: Thin and bony.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: Has a prominent fang in his teeth, visible on his default grin.**

**Hidden under his clothes, he has a tattoo of a Crocodile (or possibly a alligator, it's not the best tattoo in the world) on his right shoulder blade.**

**Height: 5'6**

**Weight: 110 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: For a shirt, he wears a yellow short sleeved button up shirt. The right side of the shirt has purple diagonal lines running along it, while the left side has horizontal lines. Over it he wears a thrifty, bulky button-up hoodie, unbuttoned of course. Each of the silver buttons are star-shaped, dangling from the left side. It's a flashy green in color, with large purple feathers lining the inside of the hood and covering his shoulders. It makes him look way more broad-shouldered than he actually is. ****The left of his shirt is tucked into his light blue jeans while the right side is left out, the jeans have prominent fashionable rips and tears at their knees. They are held up by a while belt with a '$' shaped belt buckle. The belt itself is a bit too big for him, as such it's got about 3 notches dangling from his waist. ****His shoes are rather simple. Black and white trainers with black sides, and white stars on their heels, with white soles and laces. His shoes have blinking neon lights on their soles that light up when he stomps on the floor.**

**Accessories: Has multiple batches and pins dangling from his unbuttoned hoodie, A Dollar sign, A Yen sign, a Pound sign, a ****Crocodile badge, a '#YOLO' pin, and a Pin that greatly resembles the Eiffel Tower. All of the money signs are on the left side, while the other three decorate the right. ****He also has lime green Shutter Shades, often alternating exactly how he's wearing them based on whatever he's feeling at the time. Whether they're on his forehead, worn over his eyes, or dangling from the collar of his T-Shirt, or in his hands.**

* * *

**14\. ****Lumoi 'Lu' Nishimura**

**Creator: Abitat Eco**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 17**

**Birthday: September 26th**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Interpreter**

**Blood Type: A-**

**Hair Color: Sienna [brown] (#A0522D)**

**Hair Style: Long and reaching to her mid-back, secured into a low and slightly messy ponytail secured with a Dark Cyan (#008B8B) bow. Wispy strands of hair from either side of her face fall in front of her ears, stopping just below her collarbone. Likewise, her fringe is also relatively messy, ruffled and hanging in uneven wavy strands straight across her forehead, the longest one reaching the lowest part of her eyebrows slightly to the right of the center. Other strands of her hair hang freely out of the bow further contribute to her slight windswept appearance.**

**Eye Color: Pale Turquoise (#AFEEEE). Her eyes are wide and doe shaped, a little shadowed underneath and have naturally long eyelashes. A pair of relatively flat eyebrows sit raised above her eyelids, a little droopy, being of medium thickness and an identical shade to her hair.**

**Skin Tone: Corn-silk (#FFF8DC), unfortunately giving her the tendency to burn rather easily. Her complexion also helps to further emphasize the light clusters of burly-wood (#DEB887) shaded freckles dusted across the bridge of her narrow upturned nose.**

**Body Type: Lumoi has a fairly straight body type, with only a few subtle curves at her hips, accompanied by some decent muscle tone and strength in her limbs. She is probably slightly shorter than other girls her age and is a borderline healthy weight in proportion to her height, with slightly broad shoulders and a fairly decent sized chest, sitting at a comfortable double B cup. Her overall face shape is mostly oval, with an angular slightly pointed chin and thin peach colored lips which are often pressed together, or slightly parted.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: Lumoi has quite a few faded scars dotted over her figure in various places, most hidden underneath her outfit or sleeves, including a few on her stomach, back and arms. A small tattoo of a musical clef sits just below her right collarbone and a small brown mole on her left thigh stands as a substitute for a birthmark.**

**Height: 5.6 ft**

**Weight: 146 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Lumoi wears a Teal (#008080) colored three-quarter length sleeve shirt, which sits slightly off the shoulders and is folded neatly at her waist, tucked a little over the waistline of her long calf-length Light Slate Gray (#778899) skirt. The skirt is rather floaty and a little flared, with a smooth curved trim at the bottom and embellished with the delicate layered embroidery of small stitched flowers in varying shades of blue (mostly Steel Blue [#4682B4] and Royal Blue [#4169E1]) with a simple shift underneath. With her long and floaty skirt, Lumoi wears Navy (#000080) coloured tights and Black (#000000) leather flat shoes with a strap across the ankle and a tiny Light Gray (#D3D3D3) flower to embellish it. Over her shirt, Lumoi also wears a poncho cape reaching to just past her waist, hand-knitted from Dim Gray (#696969) wool and bearing a variety of small broaches and accessories.**

**Accessories: Lumoi has quite a few additional accessories accompanying her main outfit, including a Light Slate Gray beret to match her skirt, a small Royal Blue ribbon stitched on for embellishment as it sits back on her head. A variety of themed pins and brooches are attached to her poncho (including a pearly brooch shaped like a flower near the top center and various features such as the world flags, famous landmarks and the like, small mementos from the travelling whilst on tour with Tamaki. Additionally, Lumoi has a pair of small Silver star shaped earrings and a ring bearing an amethyst, as well as an identical black fabric choker necklace as Tamaki, bearing the symbol for infinity in shining Silver. Lastly, she has a small Tan (#D2B48C) fabric rucksack containing a few of her essentials: a bag of strawberry bon bons, a large flask of water, her scrapbook, a large language dictionary and a few other various bits and pieces.**

**Other Clothing: For sleeping, Lumoi will simply wear a Medium Slate Blue (#7B68EE) colored nightdress with three-quarter length sleeves and floating down to also meet the level of calves, embellished with paler Thistle (#D8BFD8) colored lace and a Dark Magenta (#8B008B) ribbon, worn with identically colored slippers, with Thistle colored pompoms. For swimwear, she has a Navy colored tanquinni set, patterned with a Powder Blue (#B0E0E6) star print, the vest a halter neck and worn to her waist, whilst the pants are waterproof and slightly flared. Exercise clothing would involve her wearing a pair of simple Light Gray trousers, worn with a simple tie belt and a Powder Blue plain short sleeved shirt, ditching her beret and wearing Teal colored socks and White sneakers on her feet instead. As for formal or party wear, Lumoi would put on an elegant and flared Steel Blue gown, reaching to her ankles and worn with the bardot sleeves slightly off of the shoulders. It would be embellished with a little paler colored lace and ribbon, worn with Tan colored skin tights and matching Steel Blue shoes with the slightest heel on them for a more mature look. Lumoi would also have her hair loose and curled with the ends braided back and clipped with a pearly grip, wrapping a Teal colored shawl over her shoulders to keep her warm.**

* * *

**15\. Yuzuki Saeki**

**Creator: ****Shirasaur**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 17**

**Birthday: February 16th**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Lepidopterist - (Lepidoptery is the study of moths)**

**Blood Type: O+**

**Hair Color: Light Gray (#EDEDE8)**

**Hair Style/Length: Yuzuki's hair is pretty long, about waist-length. About a third of it is left down, and she has two long, messy pigtails on each side, tied in place with black ribbons. Yuzuki has choppy bangs that often fall into her eyes, with pieces on either side that frame her face, and a few chunks that hang in front of her shoulders.**

**Eye Color: Black (#0F0F0F)**

**Skin Tone: Pale, slightly yellow (#FEFCEF)**

**Body Type: Yuzuki is tall, and fairly slim for her height. There's not much fat to her. She's quite bony.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: She has no real tattoos, but she draws moths on her arms in semi-permanent ink.**

**Height: 5'10"**

**Weight: 126 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Yuzuki wears a long-sleeved black turtleneck underneath a knee-length white lab coat. On her lower half, she wears dark grey cargo pants, and black loafers.**

**Accessories: She wears a pair of large circular wire-rimmed glasses.**

* * *

**16\. Ashe Langdon**

**Creator: MudkipOfDespair**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 34**

**Birthday: October 17th**

**Nationality: American**

**Talent: Ultimate Aerodynamics Expert**

**Blood Type: A**

**Hair Color: Silver-gray (#D3C9C6)**

**Hair Style/Length: Ashe keeps her hair in a long, high-tied ponytail that reaches to around the middle of her back.**

**Eye Color: Green (#13D057)**

**Skin Tone: Fair, though she does have some freckles on her face, around her nose.**

**Body Type: Ashe is fairly short and lean, though she does have a little bit of muscle. She is also fairly busty, with her b*** at around a D cup.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: Calloused hands**

**Height: 5'3"**

**Weight: 116 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Ashe's normal ensemble is a black tee shirt worn under a blue hoodie, along with a pair of beige khaki shorts and a pair of blue sneakers.**

**Exercise Clothing: While exercising, Ashe will wear a white tank top, and exchange her khakis for a pair of blue gym shorts.**

**Sleepwear: Ashe will normally sleep in her underwear, though on the off chance she gets cold, she'll put on a blue nightgown.**

**Accessories: Ashe carries a brown satchel over her left shoulder, which contains numerous documents, devices, and calculations. Unfortunately, it takes her a while to find what she needs, since it's so messy inside.**

* * *

**17\. Riku Ito**

**Creator: ****BirblordAlmighty**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 18**

**Birthday: Dec 18**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Fandubber**

**Blood: O**

**Hair: Long, wavy purple hair that is neck down in the back. In the front, he has bangs covering his left eye slightly, going down to the bottom tip of his ear. The top of his hair is somewhat messy, with what can only be described as a wispy ahoge on the very top.**

**Eyes: A dull gold color.**

**Skin: Pale. Has bags under his eyes in the morning.**

**Body: Skinny yet lanky. It's clear Riku doesn't eat much from looking at him.**

**Height: 5'6"**

**Weight: 117 lbs**

**Clothing: Wears a long, white hoodie with black accents. The zipper is broken so he wears it open, and underneath he wears a black t-shirt with a stylized golden Pheonix symbol. He wears dark grey sweatpants and black sneakers.**

**Exercise: While Riku typically doesn't do exercise, in the event he does he simply rolls up the pant legs and discards the hoodie**

**Sleep: Sleeps in various states of undress, usually just in his boxers.**

**Accessories: His 3DS if that's allowed. Otherwise, nothing.**

* * *

**18\. ****Naraaki Tsukamoto**

**Creator: TheRoseShadow21**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 17**

**Birthday: April 22**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Teuthologist**

**Blood Type: AB**

**Hair Color: Bright pink (#E25098)**

**Hair Style/Length: Short and spiky, a short fringe slightly flopping over one side of his forehead, brushed off to the side.**

**Eye Color: A very bright blue (#41FDFE)**

**Skin Tone: Very slightly tanned.**

**Body Type: Small and scrawny. He is actually stronger than he looks, particularly in his arms, but basically he is a midget.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: He has various scars on his torso and back, as well as his knees and elbows, and a large one on the back of his ankle.**

**Height: 5'0"**

**Weight: 115 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Naraaki's actual taste in clothing is fairly simple-t shirts, jeans, a hoodie and a beanie hat if it is cold out, socks and trainers. However, the colors are anything but simple. He always goes for bright colors: purple, red, pink, blue, green, yellow, orange. He might not go for actual neon, but the colors he wears will be as bright as he possibly can get. Only his jeans could be considered a sensible color, as he usually either wears light blue or dark grey for those. He doesn't go for patterns very often with his clothing choices (though, he does have a light purple t-shirt where the sleeves have a black stripe down them), but a lot of his t-shirts have something printed on the front, either a defiant slogan (e.g. 'WHATEVER' or 'GO AWAY') or an ocean-themed image (he has quite the collection of t-shirts and hoodies with pictures of cute octopodes on them). The exception to this is socks: the only type of socks he wears are of the goofy, novelty variety.**

* * *

**19\. ****Silas Addams Prenderghast**

**Creator: Barbacar**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 19**

**Birthday: October 30th**

**Nationality: British**

**Talent: Ultimate Undertaker**

**Blood Type: A**

**Hair Color: Dark Brown (#6C4535)**

**Hair Style/Length: It's fairly short, as well as being filthy and unkempt. It almost always covers his eyes. He also has a scruffy goatee hanging from his chin.**

**Eye Color: Medium Grey (#ACA683)**

**Skin Tone: Pale, but stained with dirt in several areas.**

**Body Type: He's fairly short for his age, and somewhat stout and overweight. He has a prominent hunchback which he makes no real attempt to hide. His teeth are crooked and somewhat discolored, and he has a noticeable under-bite. It's usually hard to tell under his loose sleeves, but his arms are fairly muscular from all the digging he does.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: He has a few small scars and dirt stains on his skin, and the skin on his hands is rather rough from all the digging he does.**

**Height: 5"1'**

**Weight: 155 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: He wears a simple, tattered brown robe (similar to one a medieval friar would wear) that's patched up in a few places. He also wears a ragged brown cloak, a pair of muddy boots, and a brown hat with a buckle around it (similar to the kind of hat a stereotypical pilgrim would wear).**

**Accessories: He often carries around a shovel, old and worn, which he uses to dig graves. He also sometimes carries an old, somewhat rusty lantern. When he's carrying both at the same time, he either carries one in each hand or has the lantern hanging from the shovel by its handle.**

* * *

**20\. ****Amarantha "Mary" Martel**

**Creator: BouncingFish**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 20**

**Birthday: July 7th**

**Nationality: Canadian**

**Talent: Ultimate Linguist**

**Blood Type: O**

**Hair Color: She's a natural blonde (#FFF979). She dyes one part of her French braid pure white, dyes another part a "neon" blue (#32E0DD), and leaves the final part alone.**

**Hair Style/Length: Her hair is styled in a French braid that reaches her lower back.**

**Eye Color: Dark Gray (#72777C)**

**Skin Tone: Pale; Caucasian**

**Body Type: Petite**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: She has several small scars on her right hand, and one that runs down most of the underside of her right forearm.**

**Height: 5'0''**

**Weight: 100 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: She wears a white camisole that exposes her midriff; a black, hooded jacket; one "neon" blue glove on her right hand (the same color as the blue in her hair); blue jean shorts; white, ankle-high socks; and tennis shoes that are the same color as her glove/hair.**

**Accessories: N/A**

* * *

**21\. Kiet Luu Vo**

**Creator: runicwolf**

**Nickname: "The Unbreakable Conqueror"**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 19**

**Birthday: April 8th **

**Nationality: Vietnamese**

**Talent: Ultimate Vovinam Practitioner**

**Blood Type: AB+**

**Hair Color: Brass (#9F8329)**

**Hair Style/Length: Kept short, naturally stiff and almost grows like an afro without the curls.**

**Eye Color: Brick Red (#B3001E)**

**Skin Tone: Darkened, brown.**

**Body Type: Slightly stocky, a bit muscled.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: Worn down arms and hands, stab/cut scars littered on front of arms and body, alongside a burn scar running from the right side of his face down to his neck and burn scars isolated to his palms and slightly up his arms. ****Surgical scars on head as well as a visible depressed skull fracture frontal bone on the front of his skull slightly on his left side with a slightly deformed left orbital bone. The left eye is offset and not naturally set straight. Barely visible hairline fracture from the front to the left side of his head.**

**Height: 5'5"**

**Weight: 144 lbs**

**Normal Clothing: Blue fluorescent coveralls with the grey and yellow reflective tape on the joints, with most of the arrangement being on the chest and around the arms. The coveralls are half taken off from the top and wrapped around his waist. Upper body has a long-sleeve forest green plaid work shirt, black box handling gloves, fitted polycarbonate woven brown-tan ball cap and black sound reduction headphones hanging around his neck; the headphones themselves also have fluorescent tape wrapped around them. Lower body, he has a red belt on with two fluorescent tape on it, brown steel-toe waterproof boots and long black socks.**

**Accessories: Attached to the belt is a harness that has two additional water proof bags that securely hang down to Kiet's thighs.**

* * *

**22\. Shiki Kuramomo**

**Creator: Prince PokePersona**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 16**

**Birthday: May 26th**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Doll Maker**

**Blood Type: O+**

**Hair Color: Midnight Purple (#9A3BDF)**

**Hair Style/Length: She has shoulder length short hair with wavy and curly ends and some messy strands framing the sides of her face and messy bangs over her forehead.**

**Eye Color: Sea Blue - Left (#449ECA)**

**Dark Grey - Right (#535666)**

**Skin Tone: Pale Doll-Like White**

**Body Type: She has a very skinny and almost androgynous female body with slight curves in her frame and a B cup chest size.**

**Makeup: She has creme brown colored lines around her arms, legs and neck that resemble limbs of a doll's anatomy with faint X shaped painted black stitch marks with dark red fake blood on the sides of her cheeks, trimmed fingernails painted black with white tips, dark grey glitter eye-shadow and winged black eyeliner on her eyes, faint purple blush on her cheeks and dark black lipstick on her lips.**

**Scars, Tattoos or Birthmarks: She has a birthmark in the shape of an evil eye on her right thigh, small slash marked scars along her neckline, some covered up by makeup on her arms and upper body.**

**Height: 5'3"**

**Weight: 105 lbs.**

**Normal Clothing: She wears a dark black long sleeved dress shirt buttoned up all the way with grey buttons, a light purple aristocratic waistcoat buttoned all the way with black swirl accents patterns on the design along with dark red beads etched on the accents, a dark violet asymmetric flared miniskirt with a white stitching pattern over the black lace mesh with curled ends hanging off the sides, black Gothic lace leggings underneath and black high heeled boots with white lacing.**

**Accessories: She has silver skull shaped cuff-links buttoned on her shirt cuffs, a white ribbon bow tie with curly tails with a black lace pattern tied around the collar, a dark black thin belt around the skirt with a silver doll face buckle, a mismatched colored ribbon with an artificial black rose with bloody white tips dripping off the petals on the left side of her head with tails resting on the sides, a homemade brown string bracelet with white doll eyes around her left wrist and pure white strings wrapped around her right wrist. Lastly, she carries a doll called Kuroko: a Victorian-styled doll with a black Lolita dress with white accents and bows, a black bonnet and black soulless eyes with black curly hair and painted red lips.**

* * *

**My OCs: 2 (Revealed: 2)**

**1\. Gai Jakusha**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 19**

**Birthday: July 20**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: ?**

**Blood Type: AB**

**Hair Color: Very Light Gray (#E9E9E9)**

**Hair Style: Short & Wavy **

**Eye Color: Pure Magenta (#E100FF)**

**Skin Tone: Fair**

**Body Type: Lean with a little bit of muscle**

**Scars, Tatoos, or Birthmarks: None**

**Height: 5'8"**

**Weight: 145 lbs**

**Normal Attire: Dark Gray jeans (#9A9A9A). Dark Magenta sneakers (#771085). A short-sleeved, black-and-white striped shirt with black collars. On the left side of the shirt, the stripes are vertical (like a referee uniform); on the right side, aka the side with the pocket, the stripes are horizontal (like a prisoner's uniform). A black vertical stripe goes down the center, separating the two sides. **

**Accessories: A straw boater hat with a dark violet (#64008F) band. Two chains attached to his jeans: a blue one (#0021FF) attached to his wallet for protection, and a cyan one (#00FFF5) purely for fashion.**

* * *

**2\. Shiri Pureya**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 18**

**Birthday: March 15**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Beach Volleyball Player**

**Blood Type: B-**

**Hair Color: Red-Brown (#A52A2A)**

**Hair Style: Neck-Length and Straight. The left side is tied into a ponytail.**

**Eye Color: Pale Orange (#FFE5B4)**

**Skin Tone: Light Tan **

**Body Type: Skinny, with a little bit of muscle on her arms and legs. She has a C-cup chest, as well as an F-cup buttocks. Her hips accommodate for the weight of such a ludicrous size.**

**Scars, Tattoos, or Birthmarks: None**

**Height: 5'6"**

**Weight: 150 lbs**

**Normal Attire: A floral lavender (#B57EDC) tank top. A black bra underneath. A fandango pink (#DE5285) short skirt. Light green (#90EE90) panties that are a regular size for regular people. No shoes.**

**Accessories: A white ribbon is used to tie her side ponytail.**

* * *

**Final Message**

**And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen! I want to thank you all again for putting so much support into this Fic. I'm so excited to bring you a wild tale full of thrills and chills. =D**

**I have two important notes, though:**

**1\. I will NOT describe the character's appearances in the first chapter. I might mention a few details here and there, but I won't write massive paragraphs copying the information from this page. I ask that you look over the Cast List and commit the information to memory.**

**2\. Updates will be at a slow pace. At this point in my life, I'm getting closer and closer to obtaining my dream career, and that ultimately takes priority. There might be long gaps of time between chapter due to me focusing on my career. HOWEVER, I promise you that this Fic will not die. I will get it completed, even if it takes me years to do so. The only way this Fic would die is if something really unexpected happened to me.**

**With that, I hope you enjoy the show.**

* * *

**Character Statistics (Brought to you by: ****life among the dead)**

_**Birthdays**_

**January: Misham (23rd)**

**February: Jaleh (1st), Rumiko (13th), Yuzuki (16th), Kazooie (18th)**

**March: Shiri (15th)**

**April: Kiet (8th), Tamaki (18th), Naraaki (22nd)**

**May: Makika (10th), Shiki (26th)**

**July: Amarantha (7th), Ivy (9th), Gai (20th)**

**August: Kirika (24th), Shun (24th)**

**September: Sanani (21st), Lumoi (26th)**

**October: Edwin (6th), Ashe (17th), Silas (30th)**

**December: Hinata (2nd), Mya (4th)**

_**Age (From Oldest to youngest)**_

**Ashe (34), Jaleh (24), Amarantha (20), Gai (19), Kiet (19), Sanani ("19"), Silas (19), Edwin (18), Ivy (18), Kazooie (18), Misham (18), Riku (18), Rumiko (18), Tamaki (18), Shiri (18), Kirika (17), Lumoi (17), Makika (17), Mya (17), Naraaki (17), Yuzuki (17), Hinata (16), Shiki (16), Shun (15)**

_**Nationality**_

**Japanese: Kirika, Tamaki, Makika, Shun, Rumiko, Hinata, Lumoi, Yuzuki, Riku, Naraaki, Shiki, Gai, Shiri**

**American: Kirika, Misham (Cherokee), Mya, Kazooie, Ashe**

**Tibetan: Sanani**

**Irish: Ivy**

**British: Edwin, Silas**

**Chinese: Edwin**

**Iranian: Jaleh**

**Canadian: Amarantha**

**Vietnamese: Kiet**

_**Height: (From tallest to shortest)**_

**Misham (6'8"), Edwin (5'11"), Kazooie (5'10"), Sanani (5'10"), Yuzuki (5'10"), Jaleh (5'9"), Tamaki (5'9"), Gai (5'8"), Hinata (5'6"), Lumoi (5'6"), Riku (5'6"), Shiri (5'6"), Kiet (5'5"), Kirika (5'5"), Rumiko (5'4"), Ashe (5'3"), Shiki (5'3"), Makika (5'2"), Mya (5'2"), Shun (5'2"), Ivy (5'1"), Silas (5'1"), Amarantha (5'0"), Naraaki (5'0")**

_**Weight: (From heaviest to lightest)**_

**Misham (203 lbs), Kazooie (191 lbs), Tamaki (163 lbs), Silas (155 lbs), Jaleh (150 lbs), Shiri (150 lbs), Lumoi (146 lbs), Mya (146 lbs), Gai (145 lbs), Kiet (144 lbs), Sanani (141 lbs), Edwin (134 lbs), Ivy (126 lbs), Shun (126 lbs), Yuzuki (126 lbs), Riku (117 lbs), Ashe (116 lbs), Naraaki (115 lbs), Rumiko (115 lbs), Makika (112 lbs), Hinata (110 lbs), Shiki (105 lbs), Kirika (104 lbs), Amarantha (100 lbs)**

_**Hair Color**_

**Black: Edwin, Jaleh**

**Brown: Kirika (Light), Shun (Dark wood), Mya (Dark), Lumoi (Sienna), Silas (Dark) **

**Gray: Yuzuki (Light), Ashe (Silver), Gai (Very light)**

**White: Amarantha **

**Red: Tamaki (Firebrick), Makika (Vivid), Rumiko (Bright maroon/rose red), Shiri (Brown)**

**Blonde: Sanani (Saffron), Kazooie (Bleached), Hinata (Beach), Amarantha, Kiet (Brass)**

**Pink: Naraaki (Bright)**

**Orange: Makika (Light)**

**Purple: Ivy (Pastel Violet), Shiki (Midnight)**

**Blue: Jaleh, Amarantha (neon)**

_**Eye Color**_

**Black: Yuzuki**

**Blue: Sanani (Dodger), Ivy, Lumoi (Pale turquoise), Naraaki (very bright), Shiki (Sea)**

**Yellow: Tamaki (Dark golden rod), Shun (Golden), Riku (Dull gold)**

**Green: Kirika (Dark), Mya (Light), Kazooie, Jaleh, Ashe **

**Gray: Silas (Medium), Amarantha (Dark), Shiki (Dark)**

**Purple: Edwin (Dark)**

**Red: Kiet (Brick)**

**Orange: Rumiko (Pastel), Shiri (Pale)**

**Pink: Makika (Very light magenta), Hinata (Deep magenta), Gai (Pure magenta)**

* * *

**Submitted Characters: 43 (23 Male; 20 Female)**

**1\. Suzaku Hitomi: Ultimate Ballerina (Creator: gamergirl101)**

**2\. Akira Sogeki: Ultimate Sharpshooter (Creator: Partyboy426)**

**3\. Mya Wilson: Ultimate Fortune Teller (Creator: Glass-Lady-of-the-Opera)**

**4\. Jax Demitri: Ultimate Farmer (Creator: Sass-Sama)**

**5\. Hyunjin Chung: Ultimate K-Pop Idol (Creator: bellatrixshine)**

**6\. Haruki Kinoshita: Ultimate Pediatrician (Creator: StoryProducer214)**

**7\. Kentaro Nijimura: Ultimate Marine Biologist (Creator: Roggi)**

**8\. Yuyu Watanaki: Ultimate Narrator (Creator: Prince PokePersona)**

**9\. Kirika Shinohara: Ultimate Caregiver (Creator: Prince PokePersona)**

**10\. ****Ashe Langdon: Ultimate Aerodynamics Expert (Creator: MudkipOfDespair)**

**11\. Ivy McNally: Ultimate Geologist (Creator: bellatrixshine)**

**12\. ****Hinata Nakajima: Ultimate Stockbroker (Creator: Scissor-Snipper)**

**13\. ****Naraaki Tsukamoto: Ultimate Teuthologist (Creator: TheRoseShadow21)**

**14\. ****Diego Ramos Delgado: Ultimate Capoeirista (Creator: Prince PokePersona)**

**15\. Riku Ito: Ultimate Fandubber (Creator: ****BirblordAlmighty)**

**16\. ****Silas Addams Prenderghast: Ultimate Undertaker (Creator: Barbacar)**

**17\. Shiki Kuramomo: Ultimate Doll Maker (Creator: Prince PokePersona)**

**18\. Shun ****Pureya: Ultimate Volleyball Player (Creator: life among the dead)**

**19\. ****Tamaki 'Tam Tam' Takahashi: Ultimate Enka Singer (Creator: Abitat Eco)**

**20\. Lumoi 'Lu' Nishimura: Ultimate Interpreter (Creator: Abitat Eco)**

**21\. Seika Kuna: Ultimate Archer (Creator: SilverEagle227)**

**22\. Audrey Eden Jr.: Ultimate Gardener (Creator: Barbacar)**

**23\. Cole Wood: Ultimate Makeup Artist (Creator: SilverEagle227)**

**24\. Akira Asano: Ultimate Tactician (Creator: StoryProducer214)**

**25\. ****Jaleh Mazdaki: Ultimate Nuclear Scientist (Creator: Superguy)**

**26\. Kazooie ("Kaz"): Ultimate Kazooist (Creator: El Torro)**

**27\. Edwin Crawford: Ultimate Private Investigator (Creator: ****WoopaKoopaTroopa)**

**28\. Marigold "Gold" Watson: Ultimate Drummer (Creator: SilverEagle227)**

**29\. ****Yuzuki Saeki: Ultimate Lepidopterist (Creator: Shirasaur)**

**30\. Inori Kimishima: Ultimate Philologist (Creator: TheRoseShadow21)**

**31\. ****Amarantha "Mary" Martel: Ultimate Linguist (Creator: BouncingFish)**

**32\. ****Hiroaki Honjo: Ultimate Con Artist (Creator: Sims Fan214)**

**33\. ****Kiet Luu Vo: Ultimate Vovinam Practitioner (Creator: runicwolf)**

**34\. ****Makika Kikyo: Ultimate Priestess (Creator: RioA)**

**35\. ****Michael Collins: Ultimate Bartender (Creator: danieltruong1917)**

**36\. Misham "the Lucky": Ultimate Excavator (Creator: El Torro)**

**37\. Abrisham Stone: Ultimate Seamstress (Creator: SilverEagle227)**

**38\. Kacper Morgan: ****Ultimate Knife Meister (Creator: 71526483)**

**39\. ****Georgia Zhukov: Ultimate Field Marshal (Creator: danieltruong1917)**

**40\. ****Sanani "Sly": Ultimate Cheater (Creator: Trust Me the Spider)**

**41\. Rumiko Homura: Ultimate ****Defense Solicitor (Creator: McLogal)**

**42\. Tomoko Asakura: Ultimate Blogger (Creator: seventh7th)**

**43\. Casper Lovelace: Ultimate Wedding Photographer (Creator: Red)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

**7:00 AM Day 1**

**Paradise Beach**

The ocean stood still. Not a single wave.

A few palm trees waved their leafy palms and fingers to a gentle tropical breeze.

The sky was brightening up, even though the sun hadn't poked his head out just yet.

And several yards away was a massive tower. A glamorous castle of a building that looked in tip-top condition, but was as dead as a ghost town.

A little reptile stood in the sand, admiring the island and the tranquility emanating from its soil.

Then he clapped twice.

And the building's lights jumped to life.

* * *

**7:05 AM Day 1**

**Room 315**

Rumiko's eyes snapped open. She sprang off a bed, gasping like a fish out of water. It took several minutes for her heart to slow down. Only then did she realize everything was blurry. Lo and behold, her glasses lay atop a smooth wood bedside table, right beside a lamp. She immediately put them on, like clockwork, and was relieved to see that it hadn't been damaged even more. The lens crack was right where it was supposed to be.

She then examined every corner of her surroundings: the rhythmic-patterned carpet floor, soft cream-colored walls, flat-screen TV, exquisite art pieces, high-grade furniture, ocean-view balcony behind glass doors with curtains, and, of course, the cloud-white king-sized bed she sat on.

She was inside a hotel room. A standard room, going by the small area, but a marvelous one nonetheless.

"A r-r-esort..."

Rumiko stepped inside the bathroom to splash her face. It was even smaller than the living area, though still beautiful. It even had a combined shower-bathtub. In the mirror, she could see that, minus a few hiccups, her appearance hadn't changed a bit. Her maroon hair was a little frazzled.

* * *

**7:33 AM Day 1**

**Hall 3A**

Sanani kept seeing the same things during his stroll through the corridor. Doors to his left, doors to his right. Lights on the left walls, lights on the right walls. Diamond patterning at his monk-strapped shoes, diamond patterning at those same shoes seconds later. He wondered if the hall was one large conveyor. One that conveniently stopped whenever he did. He briefly considered turning around. Maybe his room would be only a few feet away.

A woman crashing into him broke those thoughts. They both landed on the carpet.

The boy groaned and rubbed his head. "Hey, look both ways before you run next time."

"I-I-I'm s-sorry," Rumiko said. She sprang to her feet and extended a hand. "Y-Y-You're n-not hurt, are y-you?"

"Just peachy." Sanani carefully got himself up. "I see you have a stutter. Did I give you that?"

"N-No." Her voice seemed emotionless.

"Relax, I'm teasing you. The name's Sanani—just Sanani. Yours?"

The girl looked away. "Rumiko... b-but Ruru is f-fine."

"Then how about you call me Sly? Easier to say, right?" Sanani said with a smile.

"O-Okay... Sly. E-Excuse me." Ruru speed-walked further down the hall.

"Hold on, now." Sly followed her. "A lady like you shouldn't wander in an empty place like this, all by herself."

"I-I see why y-you call yourself 'S-Sly'."

"Not me. That's what others call me, though you're not too far off on the why."

"There m-must be other U-Ultimates here. W-W-We have to find them. Q-Quick."

Sly smirked. "You know, your voice doesn't match your words. Try inflecting."

* * *

**7:41 AM Day 1**

**Room 264**

This room was almost exactly the same as 115, and many others. The main differences were the artwork and the beds. Two queen-sized ones, instead of the single king-size.

Naraaki Tsukamoto woke up from one of those. More accurately, he fell off it from sleep-rolling. _THUD!_

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?! WHERE AM I?"

His shouting startled the girl on the other bed, Yuzuki. She peered down, brushing her light gray hair aside, to see an entangled mound of sheets and covers.

"Naraaki? Is that you?"

"MOTH-BABY!" The boy squirmed and scrambled on the floor. He eventually got his pink, spiky head out. "I'm glad you're here! Wait, no, I'm not glad you're in this place, but..."

"I know." From her bed, Yuzuki undid a few knots. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere without you, either, Octo-dork."

"Thanks," Naraaki said softly. After breaking free, he stood up and asked, "So what are we doing in a hotel?"

"I remember us getting an invitation. Our names were on it."

"Yeah, but I thought... ugh, never mind. We're probably stuck here with more people. That's fun."

"We're in one of those killing games, aren't we?"

He gave her a tight hug. "Probably, but people lived through those. We can too." They forced themselves off the bed. "Let's find the others. Sooner we get this garbage over with, the better."

The door suddenly opened.

Naraaki immediately stepped in front of Yuzuki, who locked her fingers around his. "The hell're you doing? Get out of our room!"

"This isn't your room," said the woman who entered. Her voice was devoid of humanity. "Not yet, at least."

She was garbed in a stereotypical maid outfit, but with a big red 16 printed on the front. Her hair and eyes were a matching dark blue. She was a living, breathing teenager, but her neutral face spelled out nothing but lifelessness.

"Say that again, but make sense," Naraaki growled. "Or else."

"Go to the lobby," said the maid. "You'll meet the others there. We'll clean up here."

Yuzuki avoided eye contact with her. She scrunched her hair with her other hand. "Are you, um, a part of this game?"

"I'm just a maid."

"But, um, you—you look familiar. Like an Ultimate."

"Please head to the lobby. We will not ask again."

"Tch, whatever!" Naraaki pushed the maid aside and stormed out the room, taking Yuzuki with him. "Weirdos like you aren't worth the time!"

* * *

**8:08 AM Day 1**

**Room 338**

Shiki laid still on one of the queen-beds, staring straight at the pastel ceiling. She tried to find any bruises or blemishes, but quickly gave up. A big sigh wheezed its way out of her mouth.

"Can't believe it took this long for us to be in a game," she said to her doll, Kuroko, which used her bicep as a pillow. "Maybe now, Death will finally pay us a visit."

"There you go again," Shiki said with a higher pitch, while moving Kuroko's arms with her fingers. "Honestly, this nonsense about dying should stop. You won't get any friends by spouting it."

"Not like anyone would be my friend, anyways," Shiki said with her regular, deeper voice. "They won't give a damn about me, no matter what I say."

"Hmph! So dreadfully pathetic," said Kuroko. "If only someone could end your existence right this second."

"AHAHA!" shouted a skinny man covered head-to-toe in dripping wet diving gear, after slamming the bathroom door open.

Shiki sprang off the bed with a shriek, sending her and Kuroko flying. Or rather, falling with style. She nearly crashed into the room's table; the doll landed square onto her heavily-painted face.

"Looks like yet another doll-related Ultimate," said the man. He stepped closer to her. "And with a little companion, no less! You all seem to have that. Fascinating!"

Shiki's cheeks nearly got redder than the fake blood decorating them. "What are you doing in the bathroom, you creep?!"

She then held Kuroko to the visor on his helmet. "And what do you mean, 'you all'? I'll have you know, it is very rude to lump someone in with others!"

The man responded by shifting his weight backwards. "Aha! I am no creep, I assure you that. I was testing the efficiency of my gear by submerging myself in the shower-tub. Huge success! As for you, I watched the past killing games, and there have been three other Ultimates with similar qualities. The Ventriloquist, the Plush Toy Maker, the Marionettist, and now you. Never have I seen a doll-making person who did NOT treat one of their creations like sentient beings."

He then leaned closer to Shiki. "Why do you suppose that is? It's an interesting mystery, wouldn't you agree?"

"I wouldn't know! I've never even heard of those until now." The girl leaped to her feet and stared dead-eyed at him. "But don't ever say I'm copying someone else. Understand?"

The two stood motionless for a few seconds. A staring contest between two statues...

...Then the man waved his arms in a bombastic manner. "I never said that. I simply made an observation, but it's clear that got us on the wrong foot, so let me introduce myself. You may call me Misham! Yes, Misham is my name! What is yours?"

Shiki stared at Kuroko before releasing another deep sigh. "I'm a living doll. See my stitches? Those who play with me get cursed," she said with an acidic hint of sardonicism.

Misham watched her stroll away. "What an odd person," he said to himself. "She didn't even introduce her friend!"

* * *

**8:20 AM Day 1**

**Room 157**

Shun opened his golden eyes to see a redheaded girl hugging him like he was a body pillow. The boa-constricting squeeze snapped him out of his sleep.

"Hey, let go'a me! Letgo'ame!"

Despite being so close to the girl's face, his yell didn't seem to reach her. She simply giggled, then nuzzled her head on him.

"Kawaii bunny," she cooed. "Wanna hold you forever, nya."

"WAKE UP!" Shun swung his head into hers. The collision of their skulls must've did the trick, for she released him and rolled a few inches away. They both backed up until they were teetering near the edges of the king-size bed.

The girl tenderly rubbed her noggin. "Ow, what the... etetetetet."

"Oh no, did I serve it too hard? Sorry about that. Sorryaboutthat! I got pretty desperate."

The girl immediately bounded towards the boy, as if her inner sun got switched on. They naturally fell off the bed. "Hey hey, aren't you the Ultimate Volleyball Player?!"

"Why, yes, I am. Shun Pureya's the name. Nice to meet you." Shun tried, and failed, to break free from her crushing weight. "Could you get off me, please?"

"Sugoi, sugoi, sugoi!" The girl hopped around like a feral rabbit, before hoisting him up by his shoulders. "Shiri's full name is Shiri Pureya, and she is the Ultimate Beach Volleyball Player! We must be brother and sister, Shun-kun!"

"Wait, WHAT!?" Shun felt obligated to back away once more. "Time out, time out! That's a lot of hits you sent my way. First of all, I know we're Japanese, but there's no need to use those suffixes with me. Second, we are not siblings! Wearenotsiblings!"

"Why not?"

"What do you mean, 'why not'? I know my family, and I never heard of anyone named 'Shiri'. My mom never mentioned one, either."

"Well, we could be long-lost siblings! Mommy might've kept me a secret from you for vaaarious reasons."

"Or, our names and talents could coincidentally be the same."

Shiri made a puffy pouty face. "Shame on you, nyan! Volleyball and Beach Volleyball are completely different sports." She stomped her foot. "Don't hurt your big sis' feelings!"

"You're not my... wait a minute. Waitaminute!" The boy suddenly remembered he was missing something, so he scanned the room. "Where's my ball?"

"Over there."

Shun's precious volleyball, a beautiful blend of red, green, and white, sat exactly in the spot Shiri pointed at: in front of the closet door, which was right beside the room's exit.

"I'll get it!" Shiri ditzilly skipped to the ball and bent over to pick it up.

That's when Shun finally noticed it, then immediately looked away.

Shiri's pink skirt was incredibly short. Too short. Two mounds of fat flesh were peeking out from below. That was all he saw. Nothing else.

_'That explains how heavy she was,'_ he thought to himself.

* * *

**8:34 AM Day 1**

**Hall 2B**

Lumoi's hand was glued to Tamaki's wrist while she guided him. She kept her eyes forward; he kept looking at every door they passed. Every number printed on its face.

"Shouldn't we check at least one of them, Lu-chan? There might be others here." The boy's voice was soft and gentle, like a buttercup.

"That is exactly who we want to avoid, Tama." The girl spoke in a quiet tone. Almost a whisper. "Anybody could be our enemy."

"But they could be friends... Some of them, at least."

"...It is not worth the risk."

With that, the conversation ended. The pair did not speak again until they reached an elevator, where another pair stood.

A purple-eyed boy in a dark blue trench coat was messing with the buttons. No matter what he did, the door wouldn't budge. He gave a dejected sigh.

"Sorry, Ivy. Guess we'll have to take the stairs, if we can find them."

Ivy, a violet-haired girl in a Gothic dress, kept her shoulders slumped. "It's fine. Let's get going, then."

They were about to do just that, but Tamaki called out to them. He broke free from Lumoi's grip and ran to them, with the Sienna-haired girl reluctantly following behind. Ivy instinctively looked away.

"I'm so glad to have found you!" said Tamaki. "We haven't seen anyone since we got here."

Lumoi merely nodded in agreement.

"Same here," said the other boy. "So I take it you guys were captured, too? Do you remember how?"

Lumoi performed a multitude of hand signals to Tamaki.

"I don't recall much, sadly," said Tamaki. "We received a letter, an invitation to a resort, and then we woke up in one of these rooms."

"Yeah, we also got those letters. I think I passed out after opening mine, but I'm not sure... Ah, where are my manners? My name is Edwin Crawford, the Ultimate Private Investigator. It's a pleasure to meet you." The boy gave a bright, warm smile and offered a handshake.

Tamaki accepted it and gave a smile so similar to Edwin's, it was practically a mirror reflecting its light. "It is a pleasure as well, Edwin-san. My name is Tamaki Takahashi, although... you might know me better as Tam-Tam, the Ultimate Enka Singer. Whether you may be a fan of my performances, or if your tastes in music are vastly different, I am sure we will get along great together."

The girls were as silent as corpses.

"Looks like we both got shy ones with us," said Edwin.

"It seems so, aha. The lovely young lady beside me is Lumoi Nishimura. She is the Ultimate Interpreter, if you hadn't already figured. I honestly don't know where I would be without her." He waited for Lumoi to chirp in. Nothing. "Hey, Lu-chan, it's okay..."

"...Yes. It is...just as Tama said. I am the interpreter for his performances and for him. We work closely together ...We are a strong team...erm...it is nice to...to meet you."

Edwin gestured towards Ivy. "This is Ivy McNally, the Ultimate Geologist. I'm certain she'll warm up to us soon."

"Anything else you need to know?" asked Ivy.

"We're good for now. Thank you." Edwin gave a friendly pat on Ivy and Tamaki's shoulders. "Now let's find some stairs. I can tell by the numbers that we're on the second floor."

"The stairs are this way," said a blue-haired maid standing beside them. She had a red 35 on her uniform.

Ivy jumped at the sight of her. "Where the fuck did you come from!?"

"Follow me."

With no other options, the four followed the maid.

"You know, she looks familiar," said Edwin. "I might've seen her on TV somewhere."

Tamaki instantly recognized her, but he refrained from speaking.

* * *

**8:50 AM Day 1**

**Room 118**

Riku Ito put the receiver of a desk phone to his ear. Silence. Not even a _beep_.

"A book for room service and other numbers, but no phone connection? That's kinda odd..."

Ashe Langdon pulled open a drawer below the flat-screen TV. Inside was the remote, along with a Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo 64, some controllers, and a few games. Pushing the power button on the remote awakened the TV, though it still displayed nothing but pitch-black darkness.

"You can say that again," she said while pressing the channel buttons repeatedly. The screen never changed. "Why give us TV power, but no channels or phone? It seems the only thing we could in here is play video games."

"Video games?!" Riku dashed for the drawer like a pirate and rummaged through its treasure. "Aw, man! It's nothing but Mario Party!"

"Mario Party?" The older woman picked up one of the games. The case read: 'Mario Party 6'. "I know a bit about Mario, but not all the games, especially these 'Party' ones."

"They're multiplayer games that kinda function like board games. You roll dice, collect coins, buy stars, and compete in mini-games."

"Oh, that sounds like something my precious Christophe would play! I'm sure he and his friends would have lots of fun playing this." Reminiscing of her son made her feel as cozy as heaven. "He's such a sweet kid. He'd get along with anybody. Especially a gaming expert like yourself."

"That's really nice, but... um... the Mario Party series tends to ruin friendships..."

"Really? You sure?"

"That's the reputation it's earned, Mrs. Langdon." Riku shoved the drawer closed. "With RNG bullshit and star-stealing moves, players can screw each other time and time again. Your opponents can snatch your win from you in a single turn."

"Well, sounds to me like that's only a problem for sore losers. Life can't always revolve around victory, you know. My Christophe isn't like that; he isn't the kind to whine or complain about little things, so he should be fine." Ashe's grin radiated with parental pride.

"...Anyway, these aren't my type of games. Maybe the other rooms have different ones."

"I hope one of them has a computer," Ashe said while opening the door. "I can't finish my research without one, and I want a balance between work and play."

* * *

**9:10 AM Day 1**

**Room 202**

Kazooie opened the closet. There was nothing but a small safe with a keypad inside. He tried to pull the door open; when it didn't budge, he gave up.

Behind him, a tornado had sent the room in shambles. Sheets, pillows, towels, controllers, and chairs everywhere.

That tornado wore skin-tight atomic power armor. Her name: Jaleh Mazdaki. She lifted one of the mattress up, then dropped it upon seeing nothing. "Is it in there?"

"Nope," said Kaz. "Just a safe."

"Then open it."

"Can't. Don't know the combo."

Jaleh growled. "Never have I seen anyone more useless than you. Move over." She stormed into the closet, shoving Kaz in the process, and pressed a bunch of buttons on the keypad.

No dice.

She tried again. Nothing happened. Pulling as hard as she could didn't work, either. Or punching it. Or kicking it.

"This idiotic box will NOT get the better of me!"

"Hey, cheer up. At least you know it's SAFE in there! Get it?"

Jaleh gave Kaz a feral glare, before turning back to the safe.

"Swing and a miss," said the boy.

"Go check the number of this room. Now."

With an annoyed grunt, he did as he was told. Coincidentally, the door to the room across the hall, 201, opened at the same time he opened his door. The girl who stepped out wore a maid's headband and a white apron decorated with animal prints over her dress.

"Hello, there," she said. "Did you recently wake up as well?"

"Not exactly." Kaz glanced at the number on his door. "202," he shouted inside the room.

Jaleh tried it, but the safe still didn't open. "DAMMIT!"

"Anything I can help you with?" asked the other girl.

Kaz held the door open. "If you want, be my guest."

She graciously stepped inside. "Pleased to meet you both. My name is Kirika Shinohara, the Ultimate Caregiver."

"Yeah, yeah. Name's Jaleh Mazdaki. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of something. Don't interrupt me."

"She can't find her ray-gun," said Kaz. "Only place we haven't checked is the safe, but we can't open it."

Kirika glanced at the safe. "Ah, so this room also has one. I see."

After hearing that, Jaleh finally focused her eyes on Kirika.

The caregiver continued: "It's likely that every room has a safe, and so your ray-gun could be in any one of them. Not just this one."

Jaleh approached Kirika; she stared down at her. "You're a maid, aren't you? You should know how to open them, so do it."

Kirika never flinched. She was an immovable object. "As I explained a few minutes ago, I'm a caregiver. Not a maid." Her voice was stern.

Kaz leaned against a wall. He was prepared to watch a battle unfold. It might've happened, had the door not opened again.

Five, no, _seven_ blue-haired maids marched inside. A harmonized parade. Besides the various numbers on their outfits, they all looked exactly the same. Six of these human machines went straight to cleaning the room: making the beds, fixing the furniture, wiping the floors, replacing the towels, and reorganizing all other objects. They even placed those little candies atop the beds.

"You!" Jaleh said to the seventh maid. "I need you to open this safe."

"We need all of you to enter the lobby," said the maid. "Your gun can wait."

Before anyone could do anything else, all of them left the room. Jaleh scoffed in response. "The nerve of that girl. Who does she think she is?"

Kirika gave the nuclear scientist a baffled stare. "Did it not bother you that we saw more than double of them?"

"I know those girls," Kaz casually dropped.

"You do!?"

"Yeah, they were in the Hope's Peak game."

* * *

**9:41 AM Day 1**

**Room 376**

_"YES! I'M THE WINNER! WAHOO!"_

Mario's cries of victory were alarms to Amarantha's slumber. They startled her so badly, she fell off the bed. After getting up, she glared straight at the source.

A boy in a striped shirt and black jeans sat by the TV, GameCube controller in hand. He was playing Mario Party 7, and he just won a star.

He looked over his shoulder to see the girl. "Morning, sunshine."

Her rage skyrocketed at this point. "Where the heck am I?! Why am I here!? Why are you here?!"

"Wish I could say. All I know is that we're in a resort, and I woke up in that other bed there."

"And instead of trying to find out more, you decided to play video games?"

The boy smugly shrugged. "I found them in here. Figured our captors wanted me to play 'em."

"UGH! I've only known you a minute, and I already hate your toxic sarcasm."

"Dang. That's one of my best charms." The boy paused the game. "But seriously, I did think I'd get something out of this."

She kept glaring at him.

"Come on, I bet you mess around every now and then." He stood up and tipped his straw boater hat to her. "I'm Gai Jakusha. You are?"

The silence lasted a bit longer.

"...Amarantha Martel, Ultimate Linguist. I'll accept nothing less!"

"Oooookay," said the boy.

A few seconds later, her scowl turned into a genuine, mirthful smile. "Kidding, kidding! If that mouthful doesn't do it for you, I'm more than happy with the name Mary."

Gai snickered. "I knew you weren't such a stickler."

"What I did was different... but... I did jump to conclusions about you when I shouldn't have. I'm really sorry for calling you toxic. I promise to make it up to you!"

"Nothing to stress about," Gai said. "I don't look upset, do I?"

"I know how faces work, wise guy." Mary chuckled a bit, before glancing at the paused game. "So, did you learn anything new?"

"Sadly, no. It's a regular disk of Mario Party."

"Then why the heck is it in here? What would we get out of it?"

"A fun experience?"

"There you go, again!" Mary stomped her foot with a faux pout.

Gai held his hands up. "Couldn't resist," he said with a smile.

* * *

**10:04 AM Day 1**

**Stairwell A**

Silas took his time descending each and every step. His shovel _clanged_ whenever it struck the marble. A dull, yet rhythmic melody. When he looked up towards the ceiling, he couldn't find it. All he saw was a mesmerizing spiral. If there was a center to it, he couldn't make that out, either. The curves got smaller and smaller the closer they got to a bright, almost ethereal, light.

The stout, hunch-backed boy gave a relaxed sigh, then continued the trip down. He would have gone up, but a locked gate blocked the fourth floor and beyond.

When he reached the second floor, the door to its halls opened. A wavy-haired girl in a white tunic with a gold-and-fire patterned scarf stepped inside, though Silas didn't care about those details. No, what stood out to him were her eyes: a majestic magenta with white crosses sparkling directly over her pupils.

"Are you okay, sir?"

"Never felt better," Silas said.

"You look like something is on your mind."

"Just not sure what to make of this place, yet. Can't tell if I'll like it or not."

"That's understandable," said the girl. "From what I've seen so far, this is such a beautiful resort, but I fear it's going to be used for a killing game, with us as the players."

"Oh, right. I've heard about those. So there are others here."

"I believe so."

"Then, when they die, I'll be sure to give them a proper memorial."

The girl winced a bit. "Please don't say anything horrid like that."

"If we're in a killing game, then death is bound to happen."

"I know, but there's a chance everyone might survive, so don't condemn anybody right this minute. If you can't rid your cynicism, at least say 'if' instead of 'when'."

"Alright, then. _If_ people start dying, I promise to treat their burials with utmost respect. That includes you."

With that, Silas started to descend the next flight.

But the plus-eyed girl refused to end things there. She followed him until they reached the bottom floor. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, just who are you?"

"I'm Silas Addams Prenderghast. I'm known as the Ultimate Undertaker. Or Ultimate Mortician, if you'd prefer. Ultimate Gravekeeper's pretty accurate, too. They've all got to do with handling dead bodies, really."

"Ah, that explains it. Well, it is nice meeting you, Silas. My name is Makika Kikyo, Ultimate Priestess. Differences in personality aside, I do hope we can get along."

"We might. Though if we do, there's no guarantee it will last."

* * *

**10:39 AM Day 1**

**Paradise Beach**

Massive waves kept splashing on the shore, and yet, the peace didn't die. Each one was a surfer's dream come true; each crash made a soothing sound. There was something tranquil about the ocean's chaos that made most people want to watch it and listen to its symphonies.

Mya Wilson was one of them. The ironies circled in her mind, but they didn't lessen her enjoyment of the view. In fact, she was so relaxed that she didn't notice the sun-tanned boy sitting in the sand with her.

He nudged her shoulder. "This island's pretty sick, huh, babe?"

Mya left her trance. "Oh, yes! I've never been to such a wonderful beach before, let alone a private island. This one is called 'Paradise Beach', right? I can't think of a better name to describe it. Paradise."

"I hear ya, brah. I'm lovin' it too," said the boy. "They got a fancy-ass spa, two pools, and a whole 'nother beach. But they're all locked, for some reason."

"Maybe they'll open at a set time?"

"Hope it's soon. There's, like, so much I want to do for this vacation."

"Me, too!" Mya bounded with energy. "I wanna try all the activities, and maybe taste the cuisines!"

The boy jumped up. "Hell yeah, babe! I hear there's jet ski riding somewhere, and-"

"A dance hall?"

"You read my mind!"

They both laughed as if they already had a fun day together.

"Say, you a spiritual girl or something?"

"Why, yes, I am! 'Name's Mya Wilson, Ultimate Fortune Teller!"

"That's fuckin' dope! I'm really into that bizz, so I might hit you up for a reading. I'm Hinata Nakajima. I'm, like, totally honored to meet you, M-Cat!"

Hinata offered a fist bump, which Mya responded to with full force! They both had to flap their sore hands for a few seconds.

Before either of them could do anything else, a horribly-scarred boy in fluorescent blue coveralls dashed past them. He stopped the moment his steel-toed boots hit wet sand.

"Thở sâu. Thở sâu." He kept whispering the same phrase, with one hand placed over his chest.

Mya cautiously approached this boy. "Everything alright?" She reached out to touch his shoulder. "Anything I can do for you?"

"Đừng chạm vào tôi!" He smacked her hand away. "...Sorry. I am... I am fine."

"You don't sound fine, homey," Hinata said.

"This place... this place brought back... memories. That's all I will say."

"That's terrible," Mya said. "If you need any help dealing with them, I'm more than happy to give it. My readings are known to bring people in the right direction, every time."

"Thanks... but no thanks."

"It's completely free, if you're worried about pricing."

"My answer is still no. I need to leave this island." The boy was frequently checking his surroundings.

"Look, man, can you at least give us your name?" asked Hinata.

"I'm... Kiet Luu Vo, the... Vovinam... Ultimate Vovinam Practitioner. If... you don't know... It's... basically the most widespread Vietnamese martial art."

"Man, that's too long. I'm callin' you K-Dog. Anyway, we haven't seen a way off. Not even a boat. So, ya might as well kick back and chill with us. Ya dig?"

"There is no... no prison... I've never escaped from..."

A speaker bolted to a palm tree suddenly crackled. The voice that emanated from it was akin to a baby dragon's roar. _**"Attention, all Guests! This is the resort's caretaker speaking. Please gather in the lobby, if you aren't there already."**_ After that, the speaker began to play a relaxing tropical score.

Without another word, Kiet walked towards the hotel.

Mya giddily nudged Hinata's shoulder. "I think they're gonna open everything after this."

"Yeah, this feels like one of those ceremonies. The higher ups will give a long, dull speech, then the real party will begin."

* * *

**10:50 AM Day 1**

**Grand Lobby**

All twenty-four of the guests were ants once they gathered in this luxuriously stunning space. Their reflections gleamed off the mosaic-tiled floors. The artwork on the walls eradicated their shadows. The monumental pillars surrounded them at every corner and turn, standing tall and proud. If it weren't for the furniture, the whole lobby could've passed as a living room for giants. For Gods.

They spent the next ten minutes introducing themselves, sharing their names and talents, then diving into small talk.

Once the clock struck 11, a glorious fanfare played, forcing everyone to shut up. At its finale, He appeared.

_**"Oh, goody! Everyone is here! Let's get this game started!"**_

A small turtle shell spun several laps orbiting the guests, before stopping in front of them. The shell was a deranged black, and it sported seven silver spikes. Each one had a crimson ring around the base. Four scaly limbs emerged from the side holes: the two on his left-same color as the shell; the two on his right-a manic white. Both arms wore two black, silver-spiked bands. Last came his head. The entire bottom half was nothing but a ferocious maw with armor-piercing teeth. The white top half had deep crimson hair and horns as dangerous as his shell spikes. His right eye was a black beady one with a white pupil and a crimson bushy brow. His left one, on the other hand, was the signature Monokuma eye, except it was black with a red pupil.

Upon completing the transformation, he let out the fiercest roar he could muster!

...He looked exactly like Koopa Kid, from the Mario Party games, but with a different color palette and a different left eye.

"Wow." Gai gave a few slow claps. "Didn't know the originality department was running so dry."

The turtle let out a devilish snicker. _**"I'll let that slide just this once, Refereeject. Consider yourself lucky."**_

"I-I-I knew it. We're in a k-killing game."

"….What?" asked Tamaki. "A... Killing Game?"

_**"R-R-Right you are, Ruru! We are going to play a game of life and death."**_ The turtle erupted into full-blown laughter. _**"Everyone, I am Monokame! Welcome to Tranquil Tower Resort!"**_

The guests could only stare at him. No words had the strength to stay intact.

They would soon learn that the pillars encircling them were the bars of a gilded cage.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

* * *

**Author's Notes: And with that, the story officially begins! I want to thank you all for being so patient. I hope you liked the chapter. =D**

**I tried getting feedback from each OC creator to ensure I did a good job portraying them. The only ones I couldn't do that for are the few that I couldn't reach through Discord. For those select few, if there's any element of the character you want me to improve upon, don't hesitate to message me.**

**For the most part, everyone that I messaged loved my portrayals of the characters, which made me very happy. I'm going to try my very best to be consistently good at doing that. Again, if I make any mistakes, feel free to message me about them.**

**Lastly, each subsequent chapter will contain my responses to every review. I look forward to reading your thoughts, as well as any theories you come up with. ;D**

**With that, I'll see you all next time!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

**11:05 AM Day 1**

**Grand Lobby**

"YOU SCALY TROGLODYTE!" On impulse, Mary grabbed Monokame by his hair and hoisted him up to eye-level. "I don't care how the other games turned out, we are NOT bending to your will!"

"Well said!" Shun spun his volleyball on his finger like it was a basketball. He's that good. "Things will be different, this time! We're gonna beat you, 24-0!"

Tamaki squeezed a part of his floral kimono. "Killing is wrong. Life is something that should be cherished. We can't take it for granted!" A few tears leaked out. "How could you ever liken it to a 'game'?!"

..._**sniff**_

Monokame began to sob. He fiercely hugged Mary's wrist, squeezing it like a child would with a teddy bear. _**"What a moving speech! You're right, Tam-Tam. You're absolutely right! Life is valuable!"**_ He then blew his snout onto the wrist.

"EW!" She immediately flung the turtle into the air.

But instead of falling, he performed a mini Whirling Fortress. His shell spun like a tiny propeller, sending him straight towards Tamaki. By the time he landed on the effeminate boy's shoulder, his reptilian tears had vanished without a trace.

He then got real close to his ear. "_**But here's the thing. That is **_**_exactly _**_**why we're having this game."**_

Lumoi gave him a fierce glare. "Get off of Tama... Now."

_**"Sure thing, **_**_Fräulein! Just tell the sweet child here what I said. I don't think he heard me." _**With that, Monokame jumped off. After a few flips, he stuck a perfect landing with the floor.

"Show off," muttered Ivy.

Edwin moved himself between the turtle and the other Guests. "What exactly do you mean by that? How can you appreciate life, yet host a killing game?"

_**"A game isn't fun if there are no stakes to it. Otherwise, players won't put in their best efforts to win."**_ With a snap of his clawed fingers, another blue-haired, blue-eyed maid pushed a service cart to the room's center. She had a red 78 on her uniform. Stacked atop the cart were small, portable devices with a single slim button on their sides. They looked like tablets. Each one had a different name printed on it. _**"Plus, this one is different from the rest. If you play smart, then ALL of you will survive!"**_

Yuzuki peered from behind Naraaki. "All of us?"

"Don't believe him, moth-dork!" the pink-haired Teuthologist said with an annoyed _TCH_. "These guys can't spread their dumb despair if nobody dies!"

"We will not fall for your ruse." Makika folded her slender arms. "Surely, you'll give us motives to make us kill."

Monokame tapped his foot while absentmindedly staring at the absurdly-high ceiling. He didn't speak until a few seconds of silence passed. _**"Are you chumps finished? Since you seem to be soooo familiar with how these things work, you should already know what E-Handbooks are and how they work. So take them."**_

After a bit of hesitation, each of the Guests took a Handbook.

The moment Rumiko pressed the button on hers, the screen flickered to life:

* * *

**Guest ID:**

**Rumiko Homura**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 18**

**Birthday: February 13th**

**Nationality: Japanese**

**Talent: Ultimate Defense Solicitor**

**Blood Type: O-**

**Height: 5'4"**

**Weight: 115 lbs**

**Likes: Romance novels, formal Dancing, alone time.**

**Dislikes: Exercising, any sort of physical activity, swimming.**

* * *

On the right side of the screen was a full-body photograph of Rumiko.

It was a mirror image of her, complete with her black-framed glasses, black front blouse, gunmetal gray ruffles, checkered miniskirt, white high-heels, and all other cosmetics. Even the diagonal crack on her left lens was to the detail.

"H-How did y-you get a picture this g-g-good?"

_**"Swipe the screen left to see the Rules page."**_

Without even bothering to beg the question again, she did as he told. The others followed.

Like an app, the Rules page slid into view, pushing the Report Card aside.

* * *

**RULES:**

**1\. Guests are forbidden from entering other parts of the resort until they can afford them.**

**2\. "Nighttime" is from 10 PM to 7 AM. Some areas are off-limits at night, so use caution.**

**3\. Sleeping anywhere is permitted, but is cautioned against.**

**4\. The Employee Areas are off-limits. Besides that, Guests are free to explore the affordable parts of the resort at their discretion.**

**5\. Violence against the Caretaker, as well as destruction of surveillance cameras or hotel property, is strictly prohibited.**

**6\. There are Death Traps scattered everywhere throughout the resort. Be careful with where you step and what you touch.**

**7\. Anyone who kills another Guest and becomes the "Robber" will be granted freedom if they win the trial.**

**8\. The trials are timed. Once time runs out, all Guests will be forced to vote.**

**9\. Failure to catch the Robber in a trial will result in execution for everyone except the Robber.**

**10\. There will be no trials for those who cause their own deaths.**

**11\. Guests can earn money through various mini-games. They can use this money to buy whatever is available at the reception booth, as well as gamble for more at the Casino.**

**12\. Guests who can afford the more expensive areas are allowed to explore them after purchasing them through the Front Desk. However, only those specific Guests will be granted access.**

**13\. Guests who successfully catch the Robber in a trial will be rewarded with enough money to buy access to the next area.**

**14\. After five full days of no Robbery, a Challenge Event will take place. The event will end upon completing the challenge. Win conditions will vary, depending on the challenge.**

**15\. The key to escaping is hidden somewhere on the resort. Finding it and unlocking the escape route is an automatic win for all surviving guests.**

**16\. During a trial, you are free to try and determine the identity of the GM. Succeeding will grant you a big reward. However, the timer will still be ticking.**

**17\. The only way to have a trial without a murder is to use the ultra-rare Trial Request Ticket, which can be purchased at the Reception Shops.**

**18\. Additional rules may be added as necessary.**

* * *

"Mini-games? Money?" Ashe pinched the bridge of her nose until the bulb in her silver-haired head burned bright. "Riku, isn't this like those Mario Party games we found?"

"Yeah, it is..." The baggy-eyed boy fidgeted with his wispy purple ahoge. "In fact, Monokame looks like one of its characters. Is there some sort of theme going on here?"

Sanani's eyes were closed the entire time, and they stayed that way, just like his smile. "Never heard of those games," he said while rubbing his wooden bracelet beads with his thumb. "But you hooked me with money and Casino. Care to say more?"

The bony Lepidopterist was a shivering butterfly at this point. "Can you, um, tell us more about the death traps? Please?"

Lumoi continued to give hand gestures to Tamaki, though her turquoise eyes never left Monokame. "What are... Challenge Events?"

"I take it this 'GM' is what you call the Mastermind." Kirika looked over every word carefully. "How useful is this 'reward' to us?"

Jaleh silently muttered to herself, not that anybody could tell. She had put her glass helmet back on beforehand.

Misham thrust a hand up like a preschool student. "Are the trials any different from those in the other games?"

_**"Finally, a good question! Round of applause for scuba-boy."**_ The Koopa Kid hopped onto the cart. _**"Yes, there are two key differences. The first is that the vote does NOT need to be unanimous. All you require to catch the Robber is a majority vote. Second, Guests will earn more money depending on how much they participate in the trial. This is in addition to the set amount you all receive for winning one."**_

All 24 Handbooks vibrated for a few seconds. When the Guests peered down, the Rules page automatically swiped to the left, revealing a third page.

* * *

**HIDDEN RULES (Page 1):**

**1\. Hidden rules get revealed when a Guest applies them in the game, or after every Guest learns about it.**

**2\. ****The Robber only needs a majority vote to lose a trial.**

**3\. ****Active participation in the trial affects the amount of extra money you can earn in it.**

**4\. ****?**

**5\. ****?**

**6\. ****?**

**7\. ****?**

**8\. ****?**

**9\. ****?**

**10\. ****?**

* * *

There were two more pages of this...

"There's about thirty of these!" Kuroko screeched. "Even more than the actual rules! Why in Heaven's name are there so many?"

_**"Most of them refer to the items and tickets at their respective stores. As Hidden Rule 1 states, when a Guest uses an item or ticket in the game, the rules pertaining to it will be revealed on that list. Alternatively, sharing the rule with everyone will do the same."**_

Shiki rolled her midnight-purple eyes. "So when we buy a thing, we can keep its rule secret until the right moment," she deadpanned. "Just great."

_**"Now, for your** **other**** questions." **_Monokame long-jumped to Riku's shoulder. _**"This is a currency-based game, one that takes a huge inspiration from Mario Party as a whole, so you're on the right track!" **_He jumped again; this time, he landed on Yuzuki's head. _**"You can say the Death Traps are like the Happening Spaces."**_

"BACK OFF!" Naraaki tried to swing at the turtle, who effortlessly dodged.

_**"Simple contact is enough to set them off, and almost all of them reset after use, so they're aaalllllways active!"**_ He swung off Naraaki's arm, as if it was a monkey bar, and flew into Kirika's arms. _**"GM is short for the Game Master. Figuring out their identity will help you all escape in some way." **_He gently traced his cold-blooded palm across the side of her face. _**"But that's all I will say. The specifics of the reward is my little secret."**_

The Caregiver wordlessly tossed him towards the blue-haired maid beside the cart, who caught him with ease.

_**"Whew! Explaining a game gets so tiring! S-78, kindly cover the rest."**_

"Understood," said the maid. "The Challenge Events are essentially the motives. Each one lasts for a specific period of time, but they can all be beaten. All you need to do is follow its instructions. Committing a murder will prematurely end the challenge."

Sanani put his hands into his pockets. "First Ruru, now these chicks. Trust me, sounding robotic isn't that attractive." S-78 stared blankly at him until he said, "Please continue."

"None of these challenges are designed to outright force you into killing. In other words, there will be no motives involving starvation, illnesses, hostages, or any form of death against you or another Guest."

Ashe released the most relieved sigh in the world. "Thank God..."

"Money is everything," continued the maid. "At noon today, when the game officially begins, each of you will receive $1,000. It will go straight to your E-Handbooks."

_**"Think of them like mechanical debit cards!"**_

"The Reception Shops and the Casino will also unlock at that time. A docking station is at the main desk for each location. All you have to do is insert your device to make a purchase. At the Casino, the Cashier will exchange your transaction with either chips or tokens. Giving them back to the cashier will send money to your device."

"The Death Traps..." Kiet inched his way past Edwin, towards the maid. "Have they... have they been activated... yet?"

"No. Those will also activate at noon, today."

_**"Grahaha." **_From within S-78's grasp, Monokame's red eye burned brighter than a young sun. _**"There's always a stubborn idiot itching to fight the host at the start. **__**I'm surprised it took us this long for that to happen here."**_

"Don't bother, Kiet," Gai said while massaging his own neck. "You saw how he moves. Charging head-on will end as well as it's ended in the past. Horribly."

"I am... I am not those other guys." The brass-haired Vovinam Practitioner performed a few flicker jabs, before inching closer and readying his stance. The other Guests inched backwards.

_**"Sure, buddy. Keep telling yourself that."**_

Kiet thrust his fist straight towards him, but the maid dropped him in the nick of time. The punch collided with her stomach, sending all the air spewing out of her. She collapsed into a trembling fetal position.

After that, the red-eyed boy repeatedly tried to kick him, but all of them failed to connect. Even when he upped the speed, the turtle would dodge every attack.

He soon took a split second to catch his breath, and that made all the difference. Monokame swerved behind him, jumped, and swung his claws at his back. A vicious forward aerial, tearing through his green plaid shirt and adding a fresh set of scars to the collection on his darkened skin.

Then Kiet struck him with a fierce back-kick!

Everyone's jaw dropped, while S-78 was still writhing. Kiet hardly flinched; he seemed surprised, but the scratch clearly didn't phase him. He unleashed a few more punches and kicks; most of them connected. Monokame still hadn't touched the floor. After juggling him for a bit, he launched him higher with an uppercut.

"Let me get a spike in!" Shun leaped towards him, ready to deliver a serious smack.

"Go get'em, little bro-kun!" Shiri bounced like a cheerleader with two pom-poms tied to her back.

"I'm giving this freak a piece of my mind!" Mary charged to where she thought the reptile would land.

Said reptile... hit Shun with a back-aerial. The dropkick landed directly into his face. A perfect bulls-eye with his nose. With blood trailing from each nostril, the tan Volleyball Player plummeted like a rag-doll. He was out cold.

Like most dramas, nearly everyone shouted "SHUN!", and a few winced at the display. Shiri simply went "NANI?!"

Mary stopped running to peer at him, but she didn't realize she was right below Monokame, who responded with a Ground Pound.

_SLAM!_

Another lost consciousness.

Monokame stood atop the Linguist's flat chest and pointed a finger extremely close to her throat. Everyone else stood still. Even Kiet stopped himself.

_**"Amazing work, Kiet! Had you fought against Monokuma, Monobuta, Kurokuma, or any of the others, you MIGHT have won. But, it is as you said for yourself. '**_**_I am... I am not those other guys.'" _**He mockingly mimicked Kiet's accent when quoting him word for word. _**"Now, since you chumps already broke Rule 5, I'm legally allowed to silence this girl for good. I won't do that, though. Wouldn't be fun. But I will DEFINITELY do it if any of you try anything rash again."**_

He glanced at the clock. 11:50 AM.

S-78 slowly got to her feet, still wheezing here and there.

_**"We've wasted so much time on this Q&A. Only 10 minutes left till the game starts, so I'll make this quick. On Day 4, regardless of what happens until then, I will send you all individual messages. I call them Truth Bullets, because each one reveals a truth about this game, the Game Master, or you Guests. Do whatever you want with the information. Share it with everybody, or don't. Doesn't matter to me. Just don't confuse it with the Challenge Event, which will be on Day 5."**_

"Woah, dude..." Hinata's sun-tanned skin turned pale in seconds. "I don't mean to be _that_ guy, but... this isn't real, right? It's all an act... isn't it?"

Makika tried to put a comforting hand on his back. "I'm sorry to say, but it's all real."

"Mr. Monokame?" Mya kept her brown eyes on Mary's neck, and the blood-tipped claw hovering above it. "I've looked everywhere in the Handbook, but I can't find a map for this resort."

A grin slithered onto his face. _**"Tranquil Tower doesn't have a map."**_

"The fuck?!" Hearing that made Ivy _really_ upset. "How the hell do we find this key, then? What's stopping us from getting lost!?"

"I have to agree with Goth girl," said Jaleh, who held her reflective glass helmet under one arm. "A map is a basic component for any game like this. We deserve to have one."

Ivy slumped her shoulders. "I have a name..."

_**"So reliant on easy tech! In the golden days, people did everything with their own hands. No crutches! You're all smart people, and your Handbooks come with a Notepad app. You can write AND sketch into it."**_

The Nuclear Scientist gave a slight smirk. "Well... you're right about my intelligence, at least."

_DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!_

The clock struck 12...

The Handbooks vibrated once more...

Sanani opened his to see a new page appear. Everyone except Shun and Mary did the same.

* * *

**STATUS:**

**Time ****—**** 12:00 PM**

**Balance ****—**** $1,000**

**Challenge Event begins in 4 Days; 23 hours; 59 minutes; 48 seconds.**

**Room ****— N/A**

* * *

Every page looked like this.

_**"Currently, you can access the Grand Lobby, Guest Rooms, Casino, Hospital, Reception Shops, Paradise Beach, Atlas Pool, Conference Hall, and Game Chamber. I've also unlocked Floors 4 through 20. All of them, like the first three, have Standard Rooms only. To secure one as your own, consult the Bell Guy at the Front Desk over there."**_

Riku glanced at the Front Desk. "...Is it a Shy Guy dressed like a bellboy?"

As if on cue, a small being appeared from behind the desk. It looked exactly like a Shy Guy. A stereotypical bellboy hat was firmly attached to its hooded head.

The Fandubber stared at it and its simplistic mask. Its pitch-black, empty eyes. He scratched his head, deep in thought.

_**"You're catching on quick. But yes, these lovely critters are in charge of the room bookings, luggage, shops, room service, and mini-games. You'll see them the most often during your stay here."**_

A couple more Bell Guys approached Shun and Mary to hoist them up and carry them away. Monokame hopped off her body.

_**"Not to fear, those two will get patched up into tip-top shape. Our hospital is so pristine, you'd mistake its rooms for hotel rooms! No, seriously, look it up. There are articles explaining how hospitals are NOT hotels! That's how blurred the lines have gone!"**_

"Can you get on with it!?" Jaleh drummed her fingers along her helmet. "For fuck's sake, I haven't got time for this pointless banter!"

_**"We're just about done, Your Highness. I just need to do one more thing."**_

"W-W-What w-would that b-be?"

_**"Show you chumps that I'm not bluffing... about the Death Traps."**_

Immediately, Monokame leaped towards S-78 and gave her a powerful shove!

As she stumbled backwards, her left foot touched a specific tile on the floor.

It looked just like the other tiles, but it shifted down like a button.

"Everyone!" Edwin shouted.

A millisecond later...

"Look away, NOW!"

...a crossbow bolt pierced through her skull.

It zoomed across the whole room; shot from one of the giant pillars.

The poor maid collapsed dead. Blood pooled around her, while bits of her brains floated in it, like letters in an alphabet soup.

Lots of screaming and life-drained expressions happened after that.

Yuzuki hugged Naraaki with all her might. She was shaking so much. The boy was gentle with her, but his bright blue eyes bore daggers at the turtle.

Kaz also glared at him.

Shiri paced in a little circle, babbling incomprehensible gibberish.

"Bò sát... Quỷ dữ..." whispered Kiet.

Tamaki was outright bawling. "Saya... *_sob* _I'm sorry... *_sniff* _I'm so, so sorry..."

Lumoi did her best to soothe him.

"Damn you..." Edwin wiped away a few tears with his sleeve.

Mya gripped her necklace. "Mama... Help..."

"What the fuck..." Ivy looked like she had been warped to another world. "What the actual fuck..."

Riku kept his head looking towards the floor.

"Shit! That's mank, man..." Hinata felt himself getting dizzy. "I think I'm gonna throw up..."

"I know this is frightening... but we need to calm down. We can't do anything reckless." Makika's words of wisdom got lost amidst the panic.

_CLANG!_

Everyone stopped.

Silas had jabbed his shovel against the tiles below him. Not a crack on them. "That woman... She has died before, hasn't she?"

"She has," said Gai. He had looked away and obscured his eyes with his hat. "She was one of the forty-seven from the Hope's Peak game, and one of its first victims."

A bunch of maids entered the hallway. Each one looked exactly like S-78, save for the numbers on their aprons. They all carried mops, wash-buckets, sponges, soaps, and other various cleaning supplies. One of them had a body bag.

Ashe watched them wash up the blood and brains. "My God, they're all clones of her. Every single one."

_**"Correctamundo! I have hundreds upon hundreds of them in my supply. They were my test dummies for each death trap, but once those all got greenlit, I hardly knew what to do with them. So, they are now the resort's cleaning staff. You can count on them to tidy your rooms every day!"**_

"Why... why are you doing this to her?" Tamaki had calmed down, but his eyes were still leaking. "Why subject her to this torture?"

Monokame gave a light shrug. _**"I thought you'd be happy to see such an important figure back again."**_

"You dare disgrace her death?" Silas was squeezing the handle of his shovel. It's amazing that it hadn't snapped from the sheer force of his grip. "You dragged her from the afterlife, back to here, and made it so she'll live for an eternity?" He _SLAMMED_ the blade a second time. "How DARE you commit such a heinous offense!"

_**"If you want, I can just kill all of them."**_

"NO!" Tamaki was slightly surprised at his own outburst. "They deserve to live..."

_**"Make up your mind, already! The world doesn't revolve on indecisiveness. Sheesh!"**_

"The problem is that you stole her self-worth." Kuroko folded her tiny arms. "If one dies, it doesn't make much of a difference. It's utterly deplorable."

"What she said," muttered Shiki.

_**"That's how economic inflation works, my dears. When more dollars exist on the planet, the value for each of them drops!"**_

The maids carried the bagged body away. They finished their work and did an excellent job; the floor was so clean, it was sparkling.

_**"Now then, I think we've stood here long enough, so consider this meeting over. We hope you enjoy your stay at Tranquil Tower. See you all later!"**_

With that, he got in his shell and spun out of the room. Another Bell Guy arrived to take the service cart.

"Confound it!" exclaimed Misham. "I still had more questions to ask him. They would've given us more progress!"

Everyone spent the next several minutes standing in silence...

"This blows!" Hinata _stomped_ the floor once, then adjusted his beach blond hair. "I was lookin' real forward to relaxin' at this 5-star resort. Now I gotta worry 'bout death traps, and dudes tryin' ta kill me, and whatever these 'Challenge Events' are. Really harshes the mellow, ya know? Ruins the mood, man..."

"Doesn't have to be that way," said Sanani, who strolled by with his hands in his pockets. "We're cautious of our surroundings every day, aren't we? This is exactly that, but up to eleven. Plus, you can still do the things this place has to offer. Wouldn't make sense for this GM guy to rig them with traps. Speaking of which, I'm heading to the casino. Care to join me?"

"I'd love to, Fox-man, but not right now. I'mma go cool off by the pool. Not swim in it, though. Not yet, at least." After saying that, Hinata made his exit.

Gai headed towards the elevator. "I'm gonna check out the Game Chamber. Something tells me that these are good to use, now."

"G-G-Guys, wait!" Rumiko watched everyone go their separate ways. "Sh-Shouldn't we s-search the r-rooms, first? So we c-can find the k-k-key?"

Kirika gave her a soft smile. "The key might be in the Casino or the Game Chamber, so it's good that they're exploring them now. Plus, there's no harm in a little multitasking."

"I'm finding my damn ray-gun." With a huff, Jaleh stormed out.

"I'll go to the Hospital area," said Mya. "I wanna see if Shun and Mary are okay."

"And I will explore the Shops," explained Makika. "It's best we learn as much of these items and tickets as we can. The sooner, the better."

Eventually, Rumiko was the only Guest in the lobby. She glanced at the Bell Guy behind the Front Desk. It hadn't moved a muscle.

She took a deep breath, to let the reality of her new life set in.

* * *

**Challenge Event begins in 4 Days; 23 hours; 31 minutes.**

* * *

**To Be Continued**

* * *

**Author's Notes: The game is afoot, now, ladies and gentlemen! I'm so excited to show you what I have in store. =D**

**Since this is a mystery story, I highly encourage you all to get a notepad (physical or digital) and jot down any details you think are important. I've already sprinkled several important clues throughout these first three chapters. Yes, I am counting the Cast List as a chapter, and there are some pieces of the puzzle hidden within it. I won't say exactly where, of course.**

**Now, for a question. Are there any specific Free Time Events that you would like to see? If so, then write them down and send them to me. You can post them in the reviews, or you can DM them to me. Either or is fine, as long as I have some way of seeing your suggestions.**

**Thank you again for reading, and I hope to entertain you again!**

* * *

**Author's Replies:**

**Trust Me the Spider**

_It's true that I love the Mario Party series. However, I have specific reasons for centering a killing game around it. I look forward to seeing you figure out what those reasons are. ;)_

**Glass-Lady-of-the-Opera**

_Thank you! I'm so happy you're enjoying the story. I hope I'm doing Mya justice so far._

**logal**

_I'm glad you like Monokame. He's fun to write. Then again, every character is fun to write! Hope you like what I have in store for Ruru! xD_

**gamergirl101**

_Indeed, they do! The wild ride is just getting started. I hope you enjoy it._

**bellatrixshine**

_Thank you, Bella. From the beginning, I wanted this story to feel unique, so that really means a lot to me. ^_^_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

**12:29 PM Day 1**

**Grand Lobby**

Rumiko moved slower than a snail towards the Front Desk. Each footstep was methodical, mechanical, & mathematical. Every _tap_ from her high heels hitting tile echoed throughout the giant chamber, bouncing around in the dome up above. They all lingered like they were the only surviving sounds in the world. The Bell Guy listened and watched. Or perhaps it didn't. It never blinked. Never tapped its foot. Never smiled. Rumiko tried to get a read on it, but she simply couldn't. Was it even looking at her? She saw no trace of any pupils. Only empty holes bigger than its mouth. The only company she really had was her own head.

_'Why am I even doing this? The others left so casually, yet no traps went off. Maybe I'm wasting time being this careful. I need to investigate as much as I can each day, or-'_

**_DING!_**

She flinched!

And misstepped!

She felt a tile shift a little bit below her right foot. But she didn't let it go completely down. She lifted it as fast as a clock's second hand and made a mad dash to the desk, practically _slamming_ into it.

The poor Defense Solicitor had her heart dancing in her rib-cage. Her lungs blasted air up her throat and out her mouth in wide gasps. Her irises were pastel orange pinballs with black cores, bouncing around in the sclerae. She soon found the source: the elevator had returned. In a row of lights, only its fourth one, labelled "L", was lit. Yet, the door did not open. The Bell Guy was the same; unmoving, unflinching, unbreathing. She couldn't look at it any more, so she stared at the ceiling until her breathing subsided.

She said "H-H-How d-do I get a r-room?" and got no verbal response. Instead, the masked figure pushed a button behind the counter, causing a panel on the desk to flip. What she saw on the other side was a monitor with a touch screen. All it displayed were two squares with text in the center. One was "BOOK ROOM", while the other was "BUY AREA". After a bit of hesitation, she tapped the former. What appeared next was a long list of multi-digit numbers, which she assumed belonged to every guest room for all three floors. Upon touching the "315" button, she received a confirmation question, which she promptly responded with "Yes". Then the button turned dim. Seconds later, her E-Handbook vibrated again.

* * *

**STATUS:**

**Time — 12:34 PM**

**Balance — $1,000**

**Challenge Event begins in 4 Days; 23 hours; 26 minutes; 18 seconds.**

**Room — 315**

* * *

She reluctantly looked at the Bell Guy again, and asked, "B-Booking is f-free?" It gave a single nod. "Can I b-book m-more than one r-room?" It shook left and right. Then she checked the Hidden Rules page, noticing that nothing had changed. There was only one thing left to check: the BUY AREA menu. Pressing that button gave her a smaller list, one with every section of the resort, minus the Employee Areas. Every selection had a price tag beside it.

* * *

**SELECT LIVING AREA**

**Deluxe Rooms ****— $100,000**

**Premium Rooms ****— $500,000**

**Suites (includes Theater & Dining Hall) ****— $1,000,000**

**Deluxe Suites (includes Spa, Fitness Center, & Tennis Courts) ****— $10,000,000**

**Regal Suites (includes Library, Museum, & Nightclub) ****— $50,000,000**

**Grand Suites (includes Ballroom) ****— $100,000,000**

**Condominiums (both Studio Apartments & Suite Apartments) ****— $500,000,000**

**Ultimate Suites (includes Waldorf Beach, Golf Course, Astoria Pool with Cabanas, & Cuisine Cove) ****— $1,000,000,000**

**Elite Suites ****— $10,000,000,000**

**Presidential Suites ****—**** $100,000,000,000**

**Penthouse Suites ****— $1,000,000,000,000**

**Statler Villa (includes Statler Beach, Garden, & Statuary) ****— $100,000,000,000,000**

**Royal Suite ****— $500,000,000,000,000**

**Master Suite ****— $900,000,000,000,000**

* * *

"N-N-N-N-N-NINE HUNDRED T-TRILLION?! FOR A S-SINGLE S-SUITE?!" The Bell Guy nodded at her outburst. "H-How is anyone s-supposed to g-get that kind of m-money?"

"It's not that hard," stated S-53.

Rumiko jumped liked she had a third heart attack. She had to catch her breath once more, while the maid got on her knees to wipe down the desk. "P-please s-stop s-sneaking up on p-people. And w-what do you m-mean by th-that?"

"It will be time-consuming, definitely, but not hard. There are quite a number of easy methods to unlock every area."

"One of th-those involves m-m-murder..."

"Correct. That is all I am allowed to say." Before Rumiko even had the chance to ask another question, S-53 pulled her outfit's collar down. Ensnared around her pretty little neck was a hi-tech, spike-studded collar, no smaller than a choker. "The caretakers are always watching."

The freckle-faced Guest couldn't help but squeeze her fists like a typical frustrated hero. "N-No w-wonder none of y-you rebelled..."

"We may all have the same personality, but I can assure you we are not a hive mind. If you'll excuse me." The elevator finally opened; without any hesitation, the maid marched inside. The doors slowly slid shut...

"Wait!" The elevator stopped, then it opened again. S-53 stared at Rumiko, expecting another request from her. Instead, she gave a promise. "I'm g-gonna f-f-find the truth and s-save you." The maid continued staring. "I-I d-don't know about every clone, but... as a D-Defense Solicitor, I will do my b-best to help y-you and as many of the others as p-possible." After that speech was a minute of silence, but it felt more like five, as if both of them were waiting for the other to say more.

"...Your optimism is appreciated," S-53 said with a formal bow. "But you are not the Ultimate Hope. Even if you were, it would not make much of a difference." She noticed Rumiko opening her mouth, but chose to keep talking. "We all kept our memories, Ms. Homura, up to the second of our death. We've known his fate for quite a while." Nothing about her had changed. Not her demeanor, her facial expressions, or even her tone of voice. "There's no need for anybody to mourn anymore. The people you should be thinking about are the other Guests. Now, is there anything else you require of me?"

The redhead felt her soul deflating. "...N-No."

"Then I bid you good day." The elevator closed.

* * *

**12:49 PM Day 1**

**Paradise Beach**

When Kiet had first entered this beach, he hadn't realized how large it truly was. In fact, he had absolutely no way of knowing. Misham had to explain it to him. "Astounding! At eight miles in length, this stretch of sand spans nearly three-fifths of the island's entire right edge! At least, I'm assuming this is the right side. As for the width: 80 feet. That's about half the width of a football field! Just think of how much sand is needed to cover such an area!"

"...How would you know this? We...we've only been here for...for a few minutes."

"Ahaha! I've stepped on many beaches before! You can say that, thanks to being the Ultimate Excavator, I became fine-tuned with ground-related subjects!"

"I see..." The darker-skinned boy looked around, standing completely still as he did so, and saw numerous objects that definitely weren't there before. Reclining lounge chairs and tropical-colored beach umbrellas were scattered throughout, like chocolate chips to a cookie. Canoes and jet-skis rested along the shoreline. An expansive wooden dock had a few motor boats tied to its posts; it connected to the exact mid-point of the beach, effectively dividing it into halves. Situated in the northern half was a professional concert stage, the kind one would find at any outstanding outdoor party, while the southern half contained a 50-foot high rock climbing wall and a beach volleyball court. Several circular platforms, each of them no bigger than a boxing ring, floated on both parts of the sea. "Do you know how...how to use a...motor boat?"

"Of course I do!" Misham's gestures _almost_ looked like flicker jabs. "I bet even someone like yourself could pull it off! That said, I don't think the reptile would make our escape so easy."

"What is that...supposed to mean?"

"Well, the availability of these vehicles contradicts the need for a key to win the game. It's most likely that their use is tied to the mini-games he mentioned. Either that, or they're traps. They could all be set to explode once they're a certain distance away from the resor—"

"I meant...I meant your comment about me..."

Once again, the frail boy threw his weight in another direction. "Ah, that! Not to be presumptuous, but your question, and your overall demeanor, made me conclude that you've lived an isolated life in Vietnam, and so you know little about the outside world. You never even watched the past killing games."

The Voninam Practitioner gave ten ellipses worth of stoic silence, but the slight shift in his eyes gave him away.

Meanwhile, the lights on Misham's visors seemed to burn brighter. "I was right on the dot! Yes!" He punched the air like he had won the lottery. "My first clue was your foolish plan to fight the reptile. Anyone who's watched these games would have known better! Then there's your crafty response to that referee-looking fellow! You had said that you weren't 'those other guys', but there were **girls** who had also fought their captors. One of those girls being the Ultimate Martial Artist, Sakura Ogami. Had you watched any of the games, you would have identified her. Besides, I'm sure someone who struggles in English would not know about 'guys' being an informal use for 'people'. I'll give you credit on using your verbal tic of pausing mid-sentence to your advantage, but it was obvious you knew nothing!"

Kiet couldn't see the Excavator's face, but he could sense that it was grinning. The mere thought made him sharpen his scowl. "...You talk too much..."

"I do many things! And you... are certainly a strong individual, despite your disadvantages. I'll have to keep an eye on you, good sir!"

Like a wave, the silence returned, splashing over both their feet. The stare-down between them had so much tension, one would need a chainsaw to cut through it.

Or a Geologist.

"Oh. My. GOD! Is that what I think it is?!" Ivy dashed right past them, toward a small gemstone sticking out of the sand. She even got on her knees to dig it out and brush it clean. "IT IS! A genuine black opal! It's shaped like a conch shell, too! This is the best day of my fucking life!" She jumped for joy, inadvertently causing her D-cup chest to bounce a bit.

Kiet was taken aback for like the tenth time today. "You were not this...this energetic before..."

Misham, on the other hand, rebounded towards the girl. "Beautiful! I've unearthed many treasures in my expeditions, but none of them were as visually appealing as this!"

"They're super fucking rare! I can't believe I found one, just like that!" Her blue eyes sparkled more than the opal, more than her lapis lazuilli necklace or the ruby on her ring. "You must have found other gemstones, right? What kind were they? Painite? Benitoite? Alexandrite?!"

"Sadly, no!" Misham said with a Shakespearean pose of defeat. "I've only found archaeological artifacts! Ancient jars and plates, animal bones, art sculptures, and the occasional gold doubloons. A travesty, for sure!"

"Damn, not even an emerald? That sucks! What spots did you check out?"

"Too many to count, for sure! If I had to mention one, it would be-"

"Cho tình yêu của...could we please...please explore the boats?"

"You can." Ivy tried shooing the stocky bug with one hand. "Misham and I are doing something right now."

"I've got it! Let's walk and talk, Miss McNally! Nothing gets interrupted through the magnificence of multitasking!"

And so, this trio of weirdos spent several minutes making their way to the docks. Ivy and Misham spent the whole trip blathering about their adventures and treasures, with Kiet doing his damnedest to block out the passionate noise. Once they finally reached a motorboat, the latter hopped up front to examine the controls. Misham followed suit, and Ivy deflated to her former self.

"We won't find anything here," she said. "We'd be better off searching the sand again, if the black opal's anything to by."

"There's more than enough time for that," said Misham. "This should be our first focus."

The Geologist muttered a miffed "Fine," then plopped onto the boat's rear. A bit of digging near the motor helped her find a red backpack tied to the boat with a red rope. Meanwhile, Kiet still couldn't get the whole thing to move.

"Ahaha! I knew something was fishy about these vehicles! Allow me to assist you, Kiet!" Misham reached for a lever, only for his hand to be slapped away.

"I...can...handle it!" Kiet slammed a button beside a blank screen, but doing instantly blinked it on to blue.

_"Three Guests identified,"_ said a voice not unlike HAL 9000's.

Ivy looked around like a lost seagull, hands clutching the backpack. "Was that the boat talking?"

_"Would you like to play the Parasailing mini-game?"_

"YES! This is exactly what we need!" Misham was too busy posing to notice the two stares aimed at him.

_"Yes registered."_ Upon saying that, the boat sped off the docks. Ivy screamed for her life, Kiet was saying "Thở sâu" again, and Misham laughed in his usual Misham manner. _"One of you must exit the boat, while the other must equip the parachute."_

"Aha! Pull yourself together, Ivy!" Misham strapped the backpack onto her. "This will help everyone in the long term!"

"Do you ever think before you act?!"

"Of course! I'll check the sea, and you search the sky!" He pulled a string on the backpack, freeing the parachute. Ivy's fervent foul language faded the further up she flew. He then gave a stunned Kiet a salute and jumped off the boat.

_"Two Guests registered. Beginning the mini-game."_

* * *

_**TWO-PLAYER CO-OP MINI-GAME: PARASAILING**_

_**One controls the boat, while the other steers the parasail. The boat driver can speed up or slow down the boat with the lever. Doing so will increase or decrease the parasailer's height. Guide the parasailer through the hologram disks to earn points. Each point is $10.**_

_**You have 5 minutes. Have fun!**_

* * *

A series of buoys emerged from the ocean, forming a wide path. Some of them projected circular holograms at random spots inside said path.

_"START!"_ said the boat in a higher-pitched voice, while zooming into the path. Poor Ivy was stammering while her skirt flapped faster than a hummingbird's wings. Thank God it went past the knees. She had no other option but to swallow her anxiety and play the game. Leaning her body left and right to hit the disks wasn't too hard, but she kept passing over the ones hovering below her.

"Hey, could you slow it down?" she shouted towards Kiet.

"No. I'm getting...getting this nonsense over with."

"We're missing out on points! And going faster won't decrease our time!"

"I don't care...about points."

"I swear to fu-" she soon saw a wooden crate floating in the path, and the boat was heading right towards it! "LOOK OUT!"

Despite Ivy's frantic pointing, Kiet was too late. They collided into the box, reducing it to scraps!

The boat slowed down, too, allowing Ivy's flight to descend a few feet. It was actually the perfect altitude for hitting the lower disks.

"You know what? Keep hitting those," the Gothic girl said. "Don't speed up unless the disks are too high."

"Quên đi!"

Kiet practically punched the lever, and the boat accelerated once more. There were more boxes in his path, and he made sure to steer clear of them this time, much to Ivy's dismay. She had to mediate, or else she would blow a gasket. "Calm down," she whispered to herself. "Everyone deserves a fair shot."

* * *

**1:20 PM Day 1**

**Under The Sea - 50 Feet Deep**

"Clever little turtle!" Misham found himself face-to-face with a forest of naval mines. Thousands upon thousands of metallic, spiky balloons closing off the rest of the ocean. Every space was accounted for. He held a piece of coral like Hamlet with a skull, and hurled it at one of the bombs, only for it to bounce off with a dull _KLUNK!_ When he swam towards it, he heard a faint _beeping_. As expected, it stopped when he swam away.

"You never cease to amaze me, technology! If only we humans could advance as quickly as you!" He was about to turn back when he saw a glint in the corner of his visor. There was something sticking out of the sand...

A treasure chest! A stereotypical pirate's treasure chest, wooden brown and all! The Excavator's excitement was too heavy for him to float. He sank for it faster than an anvil, but a white squid got in his way. It was another machine, not unlike Monokame, but designed like a Blooper.

_"This chest is part of a mini-game. You wanna play it?"_

"That depends, you wriggly sea-critter! Does it need more players?"

_"It can have up to four players, but it's not required. One player is the minimum."_

"SPLENDID! Consider me in!"

Upon saying that, more chests burrowed out the ground. More Bloopers spawned as well, alongside a blue shark!

* * *

_**SOLO MINI-GAME: TREASURE DIVING**_

_**Bring as many treasure chests to the top as you can within 5 minutes, but watch out for the enemies.**_

_**Your reward is whatever's inside them. Have fun!**_

* * *

_"START!"_

Misham dove for the chest closest to him. "Lighter than expected," which didn't mean much for a string bean like him. He was already huffing and puffing at the midway point.

The Bloopers smacking into him didn't help much, either. The attacks somehow shocked his body more than a nightstick to the back, he couldn't help but drop the chest.

He tried his best to grab it again, but the shark charged for him like a football player, jaws wide open. Dodging its _chomp_ chest-free was no problem. Fighting back was another story. The moment his fist touched it, the paralyzing shock mangled him again.

_"FINISH!"_

No matter what the boy did, he couldn't poke a single chest out of the water. The fast fiends kept flanking him at each turn, and five minutes flew by before he knew it.

_"MISS!"_

"...Aha. Good game, you animals. Good game, indeed. Perhaps this one is better with more players... Ahaha, yes! Stronger players! Definitely so!"

* * *

**2:02 PM Day 1**

**Reception Shops**

To call this place "shops" would be a severe understatement; it was more of a two-story mall, with fully-fledged stores filling every side and angle. The top floor housed all the typical stuff: Sports, Clothing, Jewelry, Electronics, Accessories, etc. Two pairs of stairs and escalators connected it to the bottom floor, where a Food Court consumed over half the area. The lovely trio of Makika, Shiri, and Ashe rode an escalator to reach the other half. They had spent over an hour, and a couple dollars, exploring the entirety of the top floor. Ashe kept a firm grip on her brand new laptop, while Shiri swung around a pink paper bag. She peeked inside to giddily gawk at its contents: a two-piece purple bikini.

"I'm gonna be so gorgeous in this, desuka! We need to throw a beach party, STAT!"

"I hate to break it to you," said Ashe, "I'm not sure it will fit you."

"Huuuuuuh? What do you mean, Langdon-san? I picked size medium!"

"Medium for teens or for adults?"

"Teens, obviously, cause I'm eigh-TEEN. I didn't buy this for you, if that's what you think. Wait, DO YOU HAVE THE HOTS FOR ME?!"

"Of course not! Did you forget I'm married?" The older woman had to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Never mind, Shiri. I was just trying to help."

Makika gave the most polite bow she could muster. "I apologize for imposing, but I think you both should have saved your money."

"No offense, dear, but I'll use my funds however I please. As the leading authority on Aerodynamics, having a computer is an absolute essential."

"Don't you need internet, meow?"

"Not really. I have all my files in a flash drive." She shook her left shoulder to emphasize her brown satchel. "It's somewhere in this thing, but it'll take me a while to find it. Either way, all I'd need is that and a few programs."

"That's great to hear, ma'am." The Priestess carefully considered her next words. "However, one question comes to mind. How will you download those programs onto that new laptop?"

It's a good thing they had stepped off the escalator by this point, for Ashe's mind had blue-screened for a few seconds. She snapped back with a single-word response: "Damn."

"GOT ITEMS!" The Beach Volleyball Player pointed like a puppy at the four stores on this floor: an Item Shop, a Lottery Shop right next to it, a Curiosity Shop, and finally, a Weapons Store.

The girls got that one out of the way first. Nothing but destructive devices as far as their eyes could see. Pistols, revolvers, Uzis, rifles, bombs, grenades, swords, knives, hammers, chainsaws, flamethrowers, rocket launchers... but no ray-guns. The prices for each of them ranged from five dollars to five cents.

"Of course these would be the cheapest." Makika fidgeted with one of her orange wavy bangs. "It should go without saying, but we mustn't let anyone buy from here."

"What if they're fakes, tho?" Shiri tried to examine a gun, but the cashier (a Hammer Bro with a Bellboy's cap) whacked her hand with a small hammer. "OW! Didn't need to do that, you meanie-weenie!"

"Shiri may be onto something," said Ashe. "If Monokame says we could all survive, then these weapons could count as 'Death Traps'. Traps intended for would-be killers."

"Now that you mention it, we had not encountered any traps in here so far."

"We must be the Super Lucky Sisters! Together, we're more powerful than the Hopemeister, Naegi!"

"The late 'Hopemeister' Naegi..." Makika said softly.

None of the swords on the shelves could cut the awkward silence that followed.

So the Aerodynamics Expert had to plow through it. "We've spent enough time here. Let's get these other shops and the Food Court over with."

The Item Shop was their next stop. It was mainly a single glass counter with an assortment of colored tickets inside, like a gas station desk, and a shelf-littered wall of various bizarre artifacts. Among them was a purplish bell, a gold oil lamp, a bag with a question-mark pattering, and a green flashlight. The desk clerk, a Bell **Snifit**, pulled out a sign the moment they set foot inside.

_"Welcome to the Item Shop, the only place to buy aces for your sleeves! Please take a look at our stock."_

* * *

**ITEMS:**

**S. Key: ...; Supply - 100; Price - $10,000**

**B. Bell: ...; Supply - 50; Price - $50,000**

**M. Suit: ...; Supply - 10; Price - $200,000**

**M. Bomb: ...; Supply - 10; Price - $200,000**

**G. Light: ...; Supply - 25; Price - $250,000**

**D. Glove: ...; Supply - 4; Price - $450,000**

**W. Watch: ...; Supply - 2; Price - $500,000**

**T. Goggles: ...; Supply - 2; Price - $600,000**

**Item Bag: Gives you three random items (never a 2nd Item Bag); Supply - 3; Price - $750,000**

**K. Kard: ...; Supply - 2; Price - $10,000,000**

**M. Lamp: ...; Supply - 1; Price - $50,000,000**

* * *

**TICKETS:**

**L. Ticket: ...; Supply - 500; Price - $100**

**P. Ticket: ...; Supply - 50; Price - $20,000**

**S. Ticket: ...; Supply - 26; Price - $70,000**

**C.T. Ticket: ...; Supply - 15; Price - $40,000**

**P.T. Ticket: ...; Supply - 9; Price - $1,500,000**

**B. Ticket: ...; Supply - 8; Price - $2,000,000**

**T.E. Ticket: ...; Supply - 6; Price - $3,000,000**

**E Ticket: ...; Supply - 3; Price - $20,000,000**

**M. Ticket: ...; Supply - 2; Price - $25,000,000**

**Trial Request Ticket: Let's you hold a trial without a murder; Supply - 1; Price - $5,000,000,000**

* * *

"This list sucks, buster!" Shiri nearly pressed her finger against the Bell Snifit. "It says nothing about most of this stuff, and these prices are knick-knack triple-wack!"

"Of course it wouldn't." Ashe pulled out her Handbook to show her the mostly-blank Hidden Rules pages. "Monokame said these rules involved the items. He wants us to buy the information."

Makika stared at the tickets, before checking her own Handbook. She hadn't spent a cent so far. "Allow me to test something. I would like to purchase one L. Ticket, please." She inserted the device into the desk's docking station. After a loud _KA-CHING_, the Bell Snifit handed her a pale orange ticket.

_"Thank you for purchasing a Lottery Ticket. You can use it at the Lottery Shop to participate in the Grand Lottery."_

The girls rechecked the sign. Nothing changed. Then the Hidden Rules pages. Same as they were before.

The Aerodynamics Expert read Hidden Rule 1 out loud, then said, "So when he said 'every Guest', he **really** meant everybody."

"There is still the other stipulation," said the Priestess.

They immediately walked to the Lottery Shop, which was smaller than the Item Shop. Sitting atop a polished wooden desk were a few machines. One of them had a crank handle attached to it. The creature in charge was a large, bulky Bob-omb. _"Greetings. Are you here for a Scratch-Off Lottery, a Ball Lottery, or the Grand Lottery?"_

"HAP-PY LUC-KY LO-TE-RY!" Shiri snatched Makika's ticket and shoved it on the desk. "Get ready to pay up, poka poka, cause the Super Lucky Sisters are here!"

Poor Ashe had her hands to her ears. "Please get this over with."

_"Give me six single-digit numbers,"_ said the Bob-omb.

Makika spoke each number slowly. "7. 1. 0. 1. 2. 5."

Despite the glaring lack of hands, the clerk fed the ticket into a machine, which regurgitated it with those exact numbers branded in the center.

After that, all three Guests felt their Handbooks vibrate.

* * *

**HIDDEN RULES (Page 2):**

**11\. The winning numbers for the Grand Lottery are announced every night at 8 PM. To enter, bring a Lottery Ticket to the Lottery Shop and give the combination you think will win. The reward for winning will always be $50,000,000,000.**

**12\. ?**

**13\. ?**

**14\. ?**

**15\. ?**

**16\. ?**

**17\. ?**

**18\. ?**

**19\. ?**

**20\. ?**

* * *

"MAMA MIA! 50 BILLION!?"

"If only scientists like myself had budgets that big. Best of luck to you, Makika."

"Thank you, but it is highly unlikely I will win. It would take a real miracle. Either way, we've proven the other method for revealing hidden rules. For now, let's finish exploring."

"Wai-wai-wai-wait! I wanna play the Ball Lottery!"

"Not now," Ashe said while grabbing Shiri's wrist. "You can do that on your own time and money."

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

The girls couldn't enter the Curiosity Shop. Attached to the locked doors was a sign that read: "OPEN FROM 10 PM TO 7 AM".

Their final stop was the Food Court, where they found the same joints one would expect to see at a mall. The spots to go for meals **_slightly_** better than fast food. Only one establishment was closed: Monobuta's Monoturnips. Its sign read: "Open Every Sunday From 8 AM To 12 PM."

* * *

**2:40 PM Day 1**

**Hospital - Ward 8**

Mary and Shun awoke in a sterile hotel room. Not a single, boring white wall in sight. The least it had was a TV screen on the wall and a potted plant in the corner. Their beds were more top notch than those at the Mayo Clinic, and as comfy as a pile of pillows. A wide window gave them a clear view of a smaller, quieter beach. From afar, they could see a rock stranded in the ocean, with a tower attached to it.

Before they could get a closer look, Mya barged inside. "There you are! Are you guys okay? Can you stand? How can I help?"

Mary hoisted herself out of bed, holding her pale head with one hand for mere milliseconds. "I've been through worse without getting a scratch. Nothing to worry about."

Shun stumbled off his. "Man, that kick was a real block. Maybe a roof. Monokame got me good... wait a minute!" He dropped to a pushup and peered under the bed, followed by Mary's. Then he leaped up and scanned every nook of the room. "Where's my ball? Where'smyball?"

"I haven't seen it anywhere." The freckled Fortune Teller tried to nudge him back to bed. "I'll go look for it, while you rest up."

"We're fine, Mya." Mary stretched her arms to prove it. "Really."

That's when the door opened, and a nurse entered. It was obviously a nurse from her getup: conservative, concealing, pale-blue scrubs. Her dark purple hair was neatly trimmed to shoulder-length, her bandage-free arms held a clipboard of medial papers, her gray eyes were as soulless as every maid in this place. Truly, the epitome of professionalism.

"Shun Pureya, Amarantha Martel, you are both cleared to go. I shall guide you to-"

_POW!_ The Linguist socked her in the face! She threw her gloved right hand towards the nurse's jaw, the impact sending her to the floor! Mary then knelt over her, said "YOU WITCH!", and sent a few more blows her way.

"Mary! Stop this!" Shun dashed for them as if the deciding point depended on it. He grabbed her shoulders, doing his absolute best to pry her away, but she shook him off.

"There aren't any rules against hurting the STAFF!" Mary threw another punch with that last word. "Only the caretaker is safe, and they sure have some nerve bringing _this_ disease back!"

"You don't know that!" said Mya, who was trying not to hyperventilate. "She could be 'hotel property', and there's still the hidden rules!"

Hearing that brought Mary back to her senses. She backed away from the battered nurse like a cornered rabbit.

_Cough cough!_ "That doesn't matter." _Gag!_ "If Miss Martel continues to behave this way," _Wheeze!_ "her death is guaranteed."

The petite girl glanced at her normally neon-blue glove. It had damp splotches of purple. "So I won't be punished?"

"...You will not."

Mya bounced from one foot to the other, as if that somehow shook off her adrenaline "What possessed you to do that?"

"You don't recognize her? Youdon'trecognizeher? She was in the Hope's Peak game."

"Oh... I actually didn't watch it, or any of the killing games." The stocky Fortune Teller looked away, as if she committed a crime. "I chose not to."

"WHAT?!" Mary glared like a judge with a verdict. "You willingly made yourself ignorant to world events?"

"No, that's not it! I heard the whole point of the killing games was to have everyone outside watch them and fall to despair. I figured that if I watched them, I'd be giving that vile group exactly what they wanted from me, and I didn't want that."

"I guess that makes sense?" Shun did a random jump, with his knees bending mid-flight. "At the same time, these guys are more than bullies. They wouldn't lose if you scored a point against them. They have other teams to target. Otherteamstotarget."

"Yeah, and people like Shun and myself watched them, and we didn't lose our minds." Mary released some steam with a sigh. "I'm sorry for snapping. I didn't mean to, honest, but this nurse is a member of the Despairs. She killed five people for the sake of her leader!"

The tan drained away from Mya's face. "She did?"

"Correct." The nurse clung to a nearby wall; it was an ironic crutch for someone like her. "And the bloodied girl before you is a clone of her. You can call me **M**. You won't be seeing hundreds of me, like you do with Saya. All my spares are in storage, ready and waiting for me to pass."

The golden-eyed boy scratched his head. "I take it M stands for-"

"Correct," said the nurse. "M stands for Medic."

* * *

**3:00 PM Day 1**

**Hall 1B**

The miserably scrawny Naraaki used every once of strength in his arms to open Room 157's door, but it wasn't enough. "THAT TURTLE'S A LIAR!" He kicked the door, like that would do something. "I thought he said these floors were open to us!"

"You heard right." Yuzuki curled several strands of her long, gray hair around her whole hand. "It's so strange. A good handful of these doors open, but there're plenty that just—don't. Why wouldn't Monokame say anything about this?"

"To have us figure everything out on our own, or make us suffer, or some other BS. It's not worth thinking about, Yuzu."

The creature-crazy friends held hands so they could tiptoe together to Room 158. When they finally got there, the door opened; Jaleh stepped out of it, and she wasn't wearing her armor anymore. In its place was an atomic green shirt with jeans and a pair of brown flat shoes. Radiation goggles hung around her neck. "You two are still here?"

Like a security gate, Naraaki's arm waved between the girls. "I could ask you the same thing, astronut!"

"Excuse me? _Astronut_? Did you not pay attention to any of our introductions? My hazmat suit is a military-grade atomic power armor, entrusted only to nuclear scientists!"

Yuzuki shrunk behind the boy. "Um, Naraaki's nickname aside, why—why aren't you wearing it? What have you, uh, been doing in that—that room?"

Jaleh hissed "Nickname" under her breath, then said, "If it isn't obvious enough, I've chosen this room as my own, and I was searching it for my ray-gun. I still turned up with nothing, but at least those blue-headed maids now have something to do. The only spot unturned is the safe, which should open once I officially book the room."

"Okay, and you didn't explore any other room, because?"

"The nerve of you, assuming I hadn't done that. Why were you and your 'moth-baby' spending hours in this one hallway? You're not even halfway through it. I bet you haven't set foot in any of the rooms."

"HEY! No one calls her that but me! If you hadn't heard, there could be death traps around here, so we're watching our steps. What's your excuse?"

"Obviously, the same thing. I had to check this room for traps, and I promise you that it's harmless. If it wasn't, I wouldn't want to live in it. I'll even admit to wasting time trying to brute force the safe, if it makes you happy."

"So much time, over a laser?"

"Not JUST a laser! This gun is one of many innovations discovered by yours truly! The Goddess of the Atom will not lose her belongings to some petty extremists!"

"You hear that, Yuzu? The 'Goddess of the Atom', she says! I knew you were a nutcase the moment we met in the Lobby!"

Yuzuki watched without a word. Her black eyes were pendulums swinging between the Teuthologist and Scientist. Their argument magnetized them, until they were both in each other's faces. Her fierce green eyes clashed with his bright blue, like lightsabers in a duel.

With one finger, Jaleh pushed him away. "Here's an idea. Let's check the next room together. I'll grant you the privilege of watching my every move!"

"Whatever, Miss Goddess. Just keep your distance between us."

The chocolate brown woman casually strolled to Room 159. She looked over her shoulder to see Naraaki and Yuzuki still near Room 158, carefully creeping to her. "Seriously? I understand the concern, but you're letting the reptile get to your heads. I've been to several rooms, and out of all of them, I only encountered one trap." She turned the knob with ease; the door was unlocked. "I'll show you how this place is mostly safe!"

But the universe works in mysterious ways...

Upon opening the door, Jaleh was staring straight at an automatic turret parked inside, next to the bed.

The machine stared back, as evidenced by the red beam touching her torso.

"GET BACK!"

Jaleh leaped away, tackling the others to the floor, and just in the nick of time! A barrage of bullets flew across the hall, embedding themselves into the door of Room 160!

Naraaki waited until the shooting ceased to shove her off and say "Oh yeah! Mostly safe, for sure!"

"They're not all like this, you stubborn fool!" Jaleh army-crawled to the wall, then slid her back up it until she was on her feet. Door 158 was still open; the turret's eye beam danced on the damaged Door 160. "Moth girl, hand me one of your shoes."

"Use your own! And don't call her-"

"It's fine, Naraaki. I—I don't mind." Yuzuki slipped off her left black loafer and tossed it to Jaleh, who placed it on the floor and slid it in front of the doorway.

The eye beam jolted to the shoe. In seconds, the turret reduced it to scraps of leather.

"That settles it," said the Nuclear Scientist. "We'll need another way to reach the rest of this hallway. Unless someone finds a way to close the door, of course."

* * *

**3:17 PM Day 1**

**Atlas Pool**

The most exquisite public pool money could buy. A lake-shaped crater containing crystal-clear waters, nearly seven-fifty thousand gallons of it. A mosaic tile depiction of a compass decorated the center of its floor, cementing its non-circular area into sections. At the far edge of the north and northeast were waterfalls flowing from faux rock formations. The south and southwest had a series of floating pads, big and small, chained to their spots. A diving board on the east drew an equator to the beverage bar on the west; a simple slide poured into the northwest, blending in with the waterfalls. Nothing like the kind one would find in a water park, but still a fun ride. Finally, a pool volleyball net marked the southeast corner. Lounge chairs, mini tables, umbrellas, and palm trees surrounded the entire attraction. The speaker system on the trees continued to play its island ambience.

Resting on one of those chairs was the bony Ultimate Stockbroker. He had removed his hoodie and shirt, so his shoulder's crocodile tattoo could bask alongside him, and placed his lime-green shutter shades over his eyes. A half-finished Afterglow mocktail was sweating on the table to his right. "Now THIS is what livin' in paradise should be! Nothin' but pure pleasantries, as they say. Wouldn't ya agree, Dollface?"

Shiki sat legs-crossed on a chair next to him, petting Kuroko's curly black hair. The girl's eyes and ears focused only on the waterfalls, entranced by their senseless splashing.

Hinata grinned at that, showing off his famous fang. "You're relaxed, which means I'm right on the money." He sipped some more of his drink. "If the rest of the resort is like this, I don't see why anybody'd want to leave so badly."

"Chalk it up to human psychology." Silas hobbled to another chair, using his shovel like a cane, and sat on its edge. "When you tell someone they can't leave, they will get the urge to leave. No one likes being told what they can or can't do, so they rebel and do the opposite, even when it's objectively better to follow the instructions. The same applies to living and dying."

"What's that 'sposed to mean, Dampe?"

"Who is this 'Dampe'? Is it a person, or more of your slang?"

"It's a nickname, homey. Based off the Zelda character." After an awkward silence, Hinata removed his shades. "What, you tellin' me ya never played any Zelda games?"

"I'm guessing those are videogames, which my village did not have."

"You lived in a village? Damn, must've been one of those medieval places ya can't find on any GPS. Sorry you had to live like that, man. That must've sucked!"

"I liked it, actually." Silas gave a nostalgic smile while scratching his hunched back with the shovel...

...but it went out like a candleflame when he remembered Hinata's first question. "Anyway, people try to defy every rule they hear, including the laws of nature. You tell them that death is inevitable, that it happens to everyone eventually, and how do they respond? They do everything in their power to prolong, or even prevent, their deaths." His grip on his shovel tightened. "De-aging, cloning, revivals, and all that sci-fi garbage!" He stabbed its blade into the ground, sprouting a web of cracks. "It's pathetic! That girl should not be here! There should not be so many of her!"

Hinata was startled to his feet. "Woah woah woah, dude! Don't destroy the vibes with your little rant." He grabbed his flashy striped shirt off his chair's handrail to put it on. "It doesn't even make sense. Of course people don't want to die. Death literally means the end of your life."

"But that's what makes it so meaningful!" The ghostly-pale Undertaker hammered the shovel deeper with his fist. The cracks grew like vines. "I don't understand why your society conditioned you all to fear death so much. Death is the most important moment in a person's life, precisely because it's the last moment of their life. A reminder to treasure every second of life as each one ticks away. If everyone was immortal, I guarantee you they'd all treat their lives like pearls before swine!"

Shiki thrusted Kuroko's arm upwards. "I second that statement!" she said with her Kuroko voice. "The most successful people have always said to treat every day like it's your last. Such thoughts motivate them to achieve more and attain fulfillment. In that sense, Silas is certainly right. Death gives life its value, and those who don't make the most of it are taking it for granted. Isn't that right, dear Shiki?"

"Death can pulverize me anytime," the Doll Maker deadpanned. "It'd be nice if he could do it soon, and with a macabre flair."

Kuroko facepalmed (with the help of Shiki's fingers). The boys dropped their jaws, but Silas had his curved differently than Hinata's.

"Finally... A fellow intellect!" Silas finally yanked his shovel out of the ground. "Tell me, Shiki, would you be interested in a practice funeral? I gave my little sister one for her ninth birthday, and she liked it a ton."

"Sounds lovely."

"Jesus Christ, y'all are loonies!" Hinata snatched his thrifty green hoodie and hightailed it to somewhere. Anywhere other than there.

"Wait!" screamed Kuroko. "Please, take me with you!"

* * *

**4:30 PM Day 1**

**Casino**

This "room" was somehow larger than the Grand Lobby. Its crimson carpeting with gilded patterning spanned over 3000 square feet. The dim lighting ensured its perpetual midnight, no matter the time. A field of tables dominated half the space. Three of each kind: Roulette, Blackjack, Poker, Craps, & Baccarat. All of them operated by Shy Guys with bow ties (called Teller Guys). The other half housed aisles upon aisles of identical slot machines with stools. Instead of the typical bells and sevens, every slot displayed the faces of various people from Hope's Peak. Each machine had "**ULTIMATE JACKPOT**" in bright lettering atop its roof, alongside a smaller print below the slots that read: "Get a row of Lucksters to win $10,000,000,000!"

The Cashier's Counter connected to the entrance; the Bar was directly across from it. When Kirika approached the former, she was met with a Goomba wearing a pink top hat and cloak. "Tokens or Chips?"

"...Tokens, please. Ten dollars worth." She held her Handbook into the dock until it made a _DING_. Then the Goomba handed her a roll of five gilded coins, which she tucked into her apron's pocket. On her way to the slots, she saw Sanani seated at a Blackjack table. By the time she reached him, he lost a few white chips to the Teller Guy. "I hope you haven't spent all day gambling."

"Course not," the Cheater said with his signature smirk. "I tested everything but the floor for traps... I guess that involves a little gambling, huh?"

"Naturally." The Caregiver's dark green eyes scoured the place, eventually settling on the machines. "It makes sense for you to skip the floor. There's so much of it, you'd need to spend a whole day or more to cover it all. Do you remember all the spots you've stepped on?"

"Not really. All I know is the tables and slots are clean." He scooped up his stash of chips, into an inner pocket of his salmon pink pinstripe jacket.

"You checked every single slot machine?"

"Doesn't matter whether I say yes or no, does it?" He pointed at her apron.

Kirika just had to chuckle at that. It was too funny to hold back. "My oh my, for someone who always has his eyes closed, you sure are observant."

"I have ears, too." He stood up to stretch his back and fix his saffron hair. "I'm about finished here, so I'll keep you company. Unless, if that's a problem."

"You are no trouble to me, Sly." She took her sweet time making her way to the machines, with Sanani close behind. During this trip, she asked, "How do the chips work here?"

"Same as in real life. White ones are a dollar, reds are ten, and so on. The rules for all these table games aren't any different, either. From what I can tell, this place is as fair as any other casino. Take that what you will."

"Are you as fair as those who frequent casinos?"

"Maybe... maybe not."

Kirika picked one of the middle machines from one of the middle rows, planting herself on the stool in front of it. Sanani sat on the one to her right.

"Here goes." She inserted a token and pulled the handle.

_CRRRRRRRRRANK-CRANK!_

The slots spun as fast as a Formula One's tires. The Guests could only see three everchanging blurs of colors.

_CLICK!_ The left slot stopped on the face of a lucky boy.

_CLICK!_ The middle slot stopped on the exact same face.

The third one took an awfully longer time.

Kirika couldn't help but stare, mouth agape.

Half a minute went by, and it hadn't stopped.

She felt the urge to lean closer.

_CLICK!_

It landed on a different face. A male, sickly face with gray-green eyes and white wavy hair.

"...What a shame," she said with a dejected smile.

Sanani had been playing with his beads the whole time. "That's how the slots work, Miss. They lure you in with the promise of a reward, then rob you of your riches one coin at a time." He jokingly pet the machine in front of him. "Heh, maybe **these** are the death traps."

Kirika threw a playful smirk back at him. "Hehehe, since you're so well-versed in this business, I'd like to see you give it a shot."

"Fine by me, but you'll be disappointed if you think I'll get hooked." The lanky man put a token in his machine, then turned the handle.

_CRRRRRRRRHAN-NAH!_

To a trained eye, one would have noticed the pale white-skinned woman turn even paler.

"Sly... did you hear that?"

"Hear what? The machine's cranking?"

"Yes, that." Although she kept her composure, her left hand was twitching. "It sounded different."

"Wasn't really paying attention."

_CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!_

The slots landed on three different faces. A woman with bangs covering her left eye, a blond man with white-rimmed glasses, and a tanned woman with unkempt chestnut hair.

The Caregiver quickly pushed a token into her own machine. "Let's see if this one does it. Please listen carefully."

She yanked the handle hard.

_CRRRRRRRRRBAR-AN!_

For the first time today, Sanani dropped his smile and opened his eyes. They were a striking dodger blue.

_CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!_

All three slots stopped on the face of a twin-tailed, Gothic-Lolita girl. The machine _BLARED_ a happy fanfare as it vomited thousands of coins. Five thousand, total!

"...We should stay away from these," said the Cheater.

"...Agreed."

* * *

**6:45 PM Day 1**

**Game Chamber**

Take a big entertainment venue, like **_Boomers!_** or **_Xtreme Action Park_**, then amp it up to eleven. You get the Game Chamber, a gargantuan basement divided into seven sectors.

Sector 1 was titled Clubhouse Lounge. On its far left side were bookshelves of board games, card games, party games, and even video games. A library's worth of them, spanning across every decade. In the middle were tables & chairs, plus a couch, a cupboard of consoles & controllers, and a wide-screen TV. On the right side were two billiards tables, a foosball table, a jukebox, and a scarlet elevator that would not open.

Sector 2, a video arcade that would put _**Funspot**_ to shame, contained every cabinet and pinball machine known to man. Sprinkled among them were hundreds of score-based redemption games, including Skee-Ball. A row of 5 air-hockey tables covered the sector's exact center, while a 13-lane bowling alley dominated the very back.

Sector 3 looked exactly like Kamurocho's underground coliseum: a caged arena encircled by audience seats.

Sector 4 consisted of nothing but obstacle courses, trampolines, and bounce houses. Shoes and loose objects were not allowed in this sector, so it had walls of lockers beside the entrance/exit doorways.

Sector 5 had an indoor go kart track, with numerous turns and overlapping roads. A colored assortment of gas-powered carts were perfectly placed by the starting line.

Sector 6 was a sprawling, complex labyrinth specially designed for both laser & paintball tag. Stacks of tag suits hung on wall hooks in the Starting Room; the guns were tied to the suits by elastic cords.

The smallest one of them all was Sector 7. Inside was just a computer terminal and a large green pipe protruding from the floor.

* * *

Tamaki jotted down all these details onto a clean page of his notepad, which he had pulled from his saddle-brown satchel. He and Lumoi were on the couch in Sector 1, watching Riku and Gai face off in a round of Smash Brothers. The pale, lanky Fandubber played as Joker; the Refereeject himself controlled Little Mac.

"You're mine!" Riku said in his best impression of Xander Mobus.

With a reflex button press, Joker hit Mac with a midair roundhouse kick (a forward-aerial). The latter fell off the stage, unable to recover.

_"GAME!"_

"Bravo, Riku-chan! That was a splendid bout." The redheaded Enka Singer clapped his dainty hands for emphasis. "I had no idea you were so skilled at this game."

"Oh, uh... Thanks." Riku studied Tamaki's oval face for a brief second. Long enough to spot his doe-shaped goldenrod eyes, and his soft smile. "I'm not amazing at it, though. It's easy to edge guard Little Mac. That's the only reason I've been winning."

"Stop it with that." Gai gave him a light shove to his chest. "I've recovered with him just fine, and bested many Joker mains before. I lost cause you're the better player. Simple as that."

"Wait..." Riku stared deep into his pure magenta eyes. "You're saying you're a Mac main?"

"That's right."

"I thought you were just going easy on me."

Lumoi blurted out, "Is this game over?", then shrunk into the couch. "There is still, erm...lots of the resort left to check...and we only have, erm, a few days until...the Challenge Event. We don't know where that...elevator...leads, either." She pointed at the red doors.

"Lu-chan..." Tamaki placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. "We all did a lot today, searching every sector and all. I'd say a break is well-earned."

"So you want us to be more productive? Fine." The gray-haired boy walked to the cupboard, pulled out two Pro Controllers, then tossed them to the duo. "Let's have this next match mean something."

"I-I'm sorry?" Lumoi said with an obviously-confused frown. "I don't understand how...this game...could be, erm, worthwhile."

"Simple. Each of us pitch in $50. Winner gets the whole pot."

"We can do that?" Riku pulled out his Handbook and scrolled through the Rules page. "Is that a hidden rule?"

"It's the whole reason this chamber exists. Every sector revolves around competitive play." After going back to his seat, Gai picked his main. "So, are you in or not?"

"Eh, sure." Joker was selected, once again. "$50 isn't too much."

"Count me in." Tamaki scrolled around the roster, eventually settling on Pit. "I've never played this before, but it looks really fun."

"...If Tama is playing...then so will I..." The Interpreter chose Shiek.

* * *

_**FOUR-PLAYER MINI-GAME: SMASH BROS. STOCK BATTLE**_

_**Send your opponents off the stage or past the edges of the screen. The last player standing wins. Tying players will enter a Sudden Death Match.**_

_**Each player has two stocks.**_

_**You have 7 minutes. Have fun!**_

* * *

All fighters spawned on Final Destination.

_"3... 2... 1..."_

_"GO!"_

Joker made the first move! He threw an Eiha at Shiek, and it landed! Shiek's damage percent rose at a steady pace as streaks of purple & red danced on her body.

The Phantom Thief charged at Pit, ready to make a dash attack, but Little Mac stopped him with a Jolt Haymaker!

"Let 'em learn the moves first," said Gai. "Won't be fun, otherwise."

"...Right." Riku set his controller down. "Sorry."

"Thank you, Gai-san." Tamaki spent at least a minute trying out every button & button-stick combination, as did Lumoi. "Okay, I believe I'm ready. Lu-chan?"

The cornsilk-skinned girl gave a single nod... then Shiek struck Joker with a dash attack, followed by an aerial hatchet swing!

"Hey!" Riku scrambled to grab his controller.

With a grappling hook, Joker got himself back to the stage. A smooth recovery!

Gai quietly snickered. "Nobody's clean, I see."

Mac perfectly parried every blue arrow Pit shot at him. Pit tried an Upperdash Arm, swinging a large orange thing, but the boxer countered with... a counter! All the damage reflected right back at the angel, sending him towards Joker!

He saw the opportunity, jumping and hitting him with an up aerial. But it wasn't enough to take a stock.

Little Mac smacked Shiek with an overhand, before placing himself below Joker. He launched with a Rising Uppercut!

Riku timed his button press to the second. Joker successfully air-dodged the attack.

That left him vulnerable to Shiek, who hit a clean up-smash! Her knife swings shot him past the top of the screen. The first stock was taken!

Right after that, she got punched by a forward-smash from Mac, careening her past the stage's left edge.

She would have reached said edge just fine, but Pit hopped off it to spike her with a down-aerial! An Under-Arc Slash! She plummeted faster than a meteor, while Pit recovered with the Power of Flight.

"I did it, Lu-chan! I got my first point!"

The red-headed boy was so giddy over this feat, that he didn't see Little Mac walk to him to deliver a wide uppercut with an igniting spark. This up-smash knocked Pit's burning body to the stratosphere.

Joker had been standing on a respawn platform throughout this exchange. When he dropped off it, he had two seconds of invincibility. Just enough for him to grab Mac and throw him off the edge. For good measure, he gimped him with the same aerial he used last match.

Yet again, Tamaki complimented Gai's and Riku's skills. The former gave a thumbs up, while the latter flashed a warm blush.

One stock left for each fighter. Three minutes left on the clock. Seconds of those were lost waiting for everyone's invulnerability to wear off.

Little Mac sprinted toward Pit, only for Shiek to place herself between them! She followed by landing a Bouncing Fish kick (down-special) on the boxer!

Joker shoots at Pit with his gun. The attack does minimal damage, but that doesn't stop Shiek from shielding the angel and throwing a Burst Grenade at the thief.

"Leave...Tama...alone."

Riku said, through grit teeth, "This isn't a team battle."

"It can be." Gai winked in the Fandubber's direction.

Tamaki was going to say something, but he decided against it. Instead, he focused on hitting Little Mac. Lumoi did the same. With two fighters against him, Gai seemed to be nearing the end...

Until he flicked the right analogue stick at the best moment! Despite Pit's attack clearly touching the boxer, his punching animation didn't stop! The gloved fist kept going! And it sent the angel flying!

Then he intercepted Shiek with another Jolt Haymaker, before charging to Joker, who instinctively responded with Rebel's Guard. By holding up his phantom mask, he enveloped himself with blue flames.

That didn't stop Gai from mashing the A Button. Little Mac threw a flurry of fists at the thief, filling his Phantom Gauge to completion!

Arsène, the gentleman persona, materialized!

Joker responded to this with an Eigaon, which the boxer dodged with a spot-dodge! The projectile hit Shiek instead, and it dealt a ton more damage than the Eiha ever did.

Little Mac began charging a Straight Lunge punch aimed at Joker, who Pit was also targeting.

He attempted the Upperdash Arm once more, but he was a second too slow. Joker activated Tatrakarn, which threw the angel's attack back at him like Little Mac's counter!

It was enough to slingshot him off the stage! His last stock was lost! The virtual crowd went wild!

"Aw, I thought I had you." Tamaki gently placed his controller down. "Great job, Riku-chan."

"Thanks." Riku was ready to hit Down-B again. Ready for Little Mac's Straight Lunge, which was still powering up, and would automatically launch soon. Shiek had been steadily increasing the latter's damage by throwing needles at him.

What happened next surprised the both of them.

The boxer zoomed in the _**opposite**_ direction! The red-flamed punch collided into Shiek like a bullet train; she rocketed off the stage! Another fighter gone!

"...Well done."

The Phantom Gauge ran dry afterwards; Arsène disappeared.

Little Mac was stuck in his ending animation. Joker capitalized on the opening with a dashing kick! Once again, the small fighter was off the stage. And, like the last two times, the phantom thief jumped off to halt his recovery with an aerial.

Sadly, for Riku, Gai read that move like an open book.

He hit Down-B, allowing Little Mac to counter in mid-air, and it connected! Joker was knocked back onto the stage. With that, Mac could freely recover.

The mind games didn't stop there.

Expecting another wave of punches, Joker used Rebel's Guard again. Instead, he was met with a grab, followed by four hits, a down throw, and a third Jolt Haymaker!

This combo completed Little Mac's Power Meter.

Joker threw another Eiha; the boxer dodge-rolled _towards_ him.

As one final resort, Joker swung his knife! A powerful forward-smash!

But he took a tiny bit too long... Little Mac shielded before it could strike... From there, the thief's fate was set!

The camera cut to a close-up of the devastating KO Uppercut!

The next second, Joker was nowhere to be seen! He vanished without a trace!

_"GAME!"_

_"LITTLE MAC WINS!"_

* * *

"Hoo, boy!" Gai took off his boater hat. He waved it to his face, like a paper fan. "I think that was my first win against you, Riku. A real close call, too. Great game."

"Definitely!" Tamaki clapped his hands to emphasize his excitement. "Great game, all around! That was such fun!"

Riku's hands were trembling, gripping his controller as tight as a vice. He slowly turned his head to face Gai. "...GG."

Then all four Guests felt their Handbooks vibrate. Almost simultaneously, they pulled them out to check their screens.

Gai had $150 added to his balance, while the others had lost $50, but that wasn't the only update.

* * *

**HIDDEN RULES (Page 1):**

**1\. Hidden rules get revealed when a Guest applies them in the game, or after every Guest learns about it.**

**2\. ****The Robber only needs a majority vote to lose a trial.**

**3\. ****Active participation in the trial affects the amount of extra money you can earn in it.**

**4\. Any form of competitive or cooperative pastime can count as a Mini-game, so long as the end result is money being gained or exchanged.**

**5\. ****?**

**6\. ****?**

**7\. ****?**

**8\. ****?**

**9\. ****?**

**10\. ****?**

* * *

**7:08 PM Day 1**

**Conference Hall**

Edwin and Kazooie were exploring what was the most simple and boring of the available areas. It had a window for one of its walls, granting those inside a view of the Grand Lobby. The other walls were cozy wooden, with a large screen mounted on the one across from the door. Inside was a long, elliptical table surrounded by twenty-four black office chairs. A blue ATM machine, one with a turtle shell emblem on both sides, covered the corner closest to the screen. If not for that and the luxury décor of the carpeting, this meeting room would look like one you'd find in any modern corporate building.

The slender Private Investigator tried to tinker with the ATM; it's DS-sized touchscreen kept responding with _"Please insert Handbook"_. With no other options, he did exactly that, and a new menu greeted him.

* * *

**WELCOME TO THE KOOPA BANK**

**REGISTERED USER: Ultimate Private Investigator - Edwin Crawford**

**ACCOUNT BALANCE: $0.00**

**What would you like to do, Edwin?**

**DEPOSIT / WITHDRAW / EXCHANGE MONOTURNIPS**

* * *

"Monoturnips? What does that have to do with a bank?" When Edwin pressed that part of the screen, the machine told him he had zero turnips. Touching DEPOSIT gave him a full keyboard, with two separate buttons on bottom-right corner: a green checkmark and a red X. He decided to enter 500, then hit the checkmark.

As he was doing so, the chubby-limbed Kazooist found a way to turn on the TV. It played a rerun of _Law & Order_, it's distinctive _DUN-DUN_ sound startling the both of them. "Cool. This one works, too."

"Does it have the same channels, like the others?" Edwin watched his Account Balance go up to $500. After that, he removed his Handbook from the machine and checked his Status page. The balance on it had dropped to $500.

"Probably." Kaz found a remote underneath the table. He mashed the channel button, causing the TV to change pictures at an epileptic pace. All the networks he saw involved entertainment, education, or lifestyles: _Food Network_, _National Geographic_, _TNT_, _Cartoon Network_, etc. "Yep. The same. All scripted stuff. Nothing live, like news or sports."

"I see... If it's alright with you, could you please use this ATM? I want to test a theory."

"Uhhh sure. Just don't be surprised if it doesn't make any CENTS."

"I'm 99% certain it will, but it's better to play things safe." What followed was a sitcom-level beat of silence. It lasted until Edwin's expression shifted to one of embarrassment. "Did... did I say something wrong? I'm sorry..."

"Don't you get it? Cents? Sense? Ooh, rough crowd." Kaz inserted his Handbook without another word.

* * *

**WELCOME TO THE KOOPA BANK**

**REGISTERED USER: Ultimate Kazooist - Kazooie**

**ACCOUNT BALANCE: $0.00**

**What would you like to do, Kazooie?**

**DEPOSIT / WITHDRAW / EXCHANGE MONOTURNIPS**

* * *

"I was right, after all." Edwin paced back and forth, in true detective fashion. "This banking machine can hold all of our funds, but it does so in separate vaults, rather than a central account. As such, only one person can use it at a time. They can only access their own account, unless they somehow get their hands on another person's Handbook."

"So... an ordinary ATM."

"That's right. I had to find that out, because there's something called a 'Koopa Bank' in the early Mario Party games. Whenever a player passes its space, they are forced to pay it five coins. This persists until someone lands on the space, in which they receive every coin it collected. If people passed it a bunch of times before that point, then that one player would get rich in an instant. Now we know this device **doesn't** work that way."

"I guess so." Kaz leaned against the ATM on one leg. "Am I done with it, now? I don't wanna lose any of my balance."

"Yes, you can take your Handbook out. Though... I have a personal question I'd like to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Did your parents really name you 'Kazooie'?"

"Ah, that. Truth is I changed my name to that the same time I bleached my hair. I thought it'd be funny. It wasn't."

"The name or the hair?"

"Both."

"I see." Edwin scanned the Kazooist's neutral face. Not a blemish or bruise. Not a shift, twitch, or tell. "So, what was your original name?"

"Couldn't say, even if I wanted to. I don't remember any of it."

"Really? Not even a last name?"

"No clue which one mom and dad gave me."

"...Alright." Edwin sat himself on one of the office chairs. "I'm sorry if I pried too much. Being a detective and all, it's my nature to question everything."

"You're good. I would've told you if I hadn't forgotten it."

The door opened; in stepped the awkward, almond-skinned Defense Solicitor. "H-H-Hello, Edwin. K-Kaz."

"Hey, Rumiko! Glad you could join us," Edwin said with a warm, welcoming wave. "What have you been up to?"

"S-S-Searching as many of the r-rooms as I c-c-can. Y-you?"

"The same, actually. Kaz and I checked out a bunch of them before coming here. We might've found the same things you did. Shall we share our info?"

"G-Good idea." She took the chair across the table from him. "The f-first room I went to w-was the one I w-w-woke up in. I b-booked it in the G-Grand L-Lobby. Everything was the s-same, e-e-except for th-three things. The s-safe can open, the TV can t-turn on, and the d-desk phone can c-call room service. H-However, I c-couldn't open the safes in the o-other rooms."

"We discovered that, too. I guess the GM didn't want the cable and phone lines on until after the game started. How did you get your safe open? I thought they all had numbered keypads."

"They d-do. A-All I did was p-put in a r-r-random combination, and it opened. N-N-Nothing inside, though."

"Interesting." Edwin pulled a silver lighter out of a pocket in his beige trousers, but he didn't light it. He simply flipped it open and shut, repeatedly, while looking at the dragon engraved on its side. "Did you try a different set of numbers after you closed it?"

"I-I don't think so."

"I hope you remember what you used the first time, because that might be the only way to open it again. My theory is that a safe unlocks for whoever reserves its corresponding room, but the combination they first enter becomes its official passcode. If I'm right, then the only way to reset the lock would be to end the reservation."

Kazooie reached into his soda-stained hoodie to pull out a vape pen. In doing so, a few white, perfectly-round objects spilled onto the floor.

Rumiko couldn't believe what she saw. She had to push her glasses up to see if they were still on. "K-K-Kaz, a-are those p-p-pearls?"

"Uhhh, yeah."

Edwin stifled a laugh. "You're fun to be around, Kaz. I guess now's a good time to bring up our other discovery. Some of the rooms had treasure hidden in bizarre places. The pearls were under the bathroom sink in Room 241. I also found a wad of bills inside a pillowcase at 266. It blended in with the other pillows on the beds."

"I-I guess I've b-been unlucky. Either th-that, or I h-haven't searched hard enough."

"Their placement is certainly random, and I'd say that's the point. Monokame wants us to examine everything, at the risk of triggering a hidden death trap. These treasures must be an extra incentive. What I'm not yet sure about is **how** we use them, when our currency is digital."

"The others might know," Kaz said mid-vape. He pointed at the window wall, where he could see the 21 remaining Guests approaching the door.

Makika poked her head inside. "I thought it would be best for us to have group meetings, so I brought everybody here. Has this place been tested?"

"Yes, it's completely safe," said Edwin. "There's enough seats for all of us."

* * *

After everyone claimed a chair, they spent the next half-hour sharing all their findings. The meeting wasn't that organized; the Guests frequently talked over each other, while Kaz played a bunch of short notes on his Kazoo. Rumiko and Edwin could thankfully block out the white noise and absorb the important points, with the latter recording them into his black notebook.

He flipped through the pages. "Alright, so of the areas currently accessible, we still have a lot of ground to cover. Mainly, the Curiosity Shop and about 20 floors worth of hotel rooms. Since the shop opens late at night, I think we should all go there together."

"Hol' up, Holmsie. We went and did our own thing all day. How's the moon make any difference?"

"I agree with...whatever his name is," said Jaleh. "What matters is that nobody goes there alone. We only need a minimum of two volunteers."

"I-I-I'll go."

"Count Yuzu and me out. We still need to reserve a room."

"A lot of us gotta do that." Sanani spun a token on the table. "And I bet we'll wanna pass out once we're all fed and adjusted."

Mya raised her hand. "Speaking of being fed, our only options are Room Service and the Food Court in the reception area, right?"

"That's correct," Kirika said while playing with her plaited ponytail. "We get to choose between luxury hotel food and luxury shopping mall food."

Mary moaned. "I'd love to have luxury **restaurant** food. Why couldn't we get Cuisine Cove from the start?"

"I'm more surprised we have to pay for our food. That was always free in the past killing games... anyway, I'll check out the shop with Rumiko. You all get some well-deserved rest. Tomorrow, we should explore the rest of the rooms."

"Sorry to tell you this, Edwin, but that's not what'll happen." Gai leaned back in his chair, like he'd already won. "I was in the Game Chamber all day, so I only know about everywhere else though everyone else's accounts. And I don't like that too much. When it comes to games, especially ones with our lives on the line, I'm the kind of guy who wants first-hand info on the whole board."

"He's right," said Shiki with a yawn. "For all I know, some of you might've missed something. Or you didn't, and are hiding it."

Kuroko bowed her little porcelain head. "What she means to say is that, since most of us are strangers, we need to build trust among each other. I promise she is not calling any of you liars."

"Ahahaha! This dilemma contains an easy solution! The only unproductive action is doing absolutely nothing. As long as we avoid that, I suggest we each do whatever we want! After all, the mini-games scattered throughout can be quite generous with their rewards. Ask Ivy and Kiet; they won four grand just by parasailing!"

Ivy, with her slumped shoulders, mumbled, "We would've gotten more, if Kiet had cooperated."

"I am not...not doing that...again."

"Not not? Not not not not not not? That means you ARE doing it again! Ha! Shiri caught you red-handed! Explain yourself to Shiri, kuma!"

Riku chimed in with, "It's a verbal tic. He sometimes says a word twice."

"Oooooooooooooohhhhhhhh! So it's like what little bro has!"

"What do you mean? I don't have a tic, and stop calling me bro. Stopcallingmebro!"

Just then, the TV turned on by itself. Monokame took center-frame. _**"We interrupt this meeting to bring you tonight's winning lottery numbers! They are, from left to right: 7, 1, 0, 1, 8, and 3!"**_

"My word, Makika, I thought you might've won that," said Ashe. "But I guess that's something the despairs would do. Build your hopes up, then snatch it away at the last minute."

_**"Wait a minute, Cloud-Chaser, are you suggesting the lottery is rigged? I'll have you know, the results are out of my hands! All randomly-generated! I swear, the world's gotten too cynical to appreciate anything."**_

"Y-Y-You are to blame f-for that..."

_**"Sue me when you got a ticket. By the way, here's a hint about the treasures. If you find any, you can use them in this room. On that note, I bid you adieu!"**_

The screen shut itself off.

Makika stood up, forcing all eyes upon her. "There's one more thing I'd like to address, before we close the meeting. If you have not watched any of the killing games prior to this one, could you please raise your hand?"

Tamaki read Lumoi's hands, then lifted his right one high. Silas, Mya, Hinata, and Kiet followed suit, in that order.

After the Priestess counted each arm, she waved for them to lower. "Okay, that makes five. At some point, we will need to educate each of you on them, so that we're all on the same page."

"I have one m-more thing to s-s-say. If you b-book the room you w-woke up in, p-p-please do n-not assume it is s-safe. Check it for any t-t-traps, since all of them w-were inactive before n-noon."

"Thanks for the tip, Ruru." Gai tipped his hat to her. "It never hurts to say the obvious out loud."

* * *

**10:13 PM Day 1**

**Curiosity Shop**

Inside this shady booth, the Private Investigator and Defense Solicitor met a Bandit behind the booth. Yes, there's a Mario creature called a Bandit, and this one looked no different. Blue robes and a constantly-grinning mask, with a mouth that _moves_ whenever it speaks.

_"Ello, strangahs! Welcome ta the Curiosity Shop, where the cats come out ta play! Our stock is short, but priceless! Have a look!"_

* * *

**CURIOSITY GOODS:**

**A-N Mask: ...; Price - $2,000,000**

**Volleyball: The prized possession of Shun Pureya; Price - $7,000,000**

**Ray-Gun: A powerful weapon invented by Jaleh Mazdaki; Price - $14,000,000**

* * *

Edwin had his eyes watering. "You're too cruel. How could you treat personal belongings this way?"

_"You should be thankin' me for evenin' out the playin' field. Wouldn't be fair if she's the only one with a gun on hand, would it? Imagine the panic she'd cause by wavin' it around."_

The boy couldn't do anything but grip his own arms.

_"Yeah, you know I'm right. As for the short lad, he shouldn'tave gone for my boss like that. This's wot he gets for taking his hands off the ball!"_ The Bandit followed those words with the most cockney laugh on the planet.

Rumiko pointed at a black, wiry mask with wide eyed eyes. "D-Does this b-belong to one of us?"

_"Nope, that's an official resort product. If you wanna know wot it does, you'llave ta buy it!"_

"U-Understood. Let's go, E-Edwin."

"Great idea. I'll tell Shun and Jaleh about this tomorrow."

* * *

**10:21 PM Day 1**

**Hall 1A - Elevator**

After escorting Edwin to his room, Rumiko entered the elevator nearest to her. Its inside was that of a platinum box large enough to hold six people. The walls bounced the ceiling light, but blurred the girl's reflection. A cute little camera was tucked against a ceiling corner.

Beside the sliding doors were three columns of light-up buttons. The bottom row had "B3", "B2", and "B1"; the top row had "97", "98", and "R". The rest of them went from 1-96, but the only buttons with their lights on were 1-20 (as well as B3).

_'One hundred and two floors,'_ she thought to herself. _'No matter. Whatever it takes, I'll solve the mastermind's mysteries. I'll expose them before they have their way.'_

She pressed the "3" button, and for some reason, the doors did not close.

She pushed it again. Nothing happened. She tried it two more times. Same result.

_...ba-bom... ...ba-bom... ...ba-bom..._

Those sounded like footsteps.

_...Ba-Bom... ...Ba-Bom... ...Ba-Bom..._

And they were getting louder.

It then occurred to her the doors had been open the whole time. She _tapped_ her heels against the stone flooring, waiting for them to emerge from the side like a subway car, but they didn't.

They showed no signs of ever showing up. Arrival canceled.

_...Ba-Bom...Ba-Bom...Ba-Bom...Ba-Bom_

Rumiko poked her ponytailed head into the hallway. Was it always this dark before?

No! The lights are dimming! They're going out one by one!

Within seconds, she couldn't make anything out.

Not even a figure marching to her position.

The elevator soon became the sole source of radiance.

A bubble stuck in an abyss.

_Ba-Bom..Ba-Bom..Ba-Bom..Ba-Bom..Ba-Bom_

She flapped her arms in front of the camera.

Then through the doorway.

Then she hopped through it!

Before hopping back in!

Nothing was working!

Dear God, why was nothing working?!

**_Ba-Bom Ba-Bom Ba-Bom Ba-Bom Ba-Bom Ba-Bom_**

Like a woodpecker's beak, her finger rammed the "3" button again and again and again!

She slammed her hands across other buttons! Even those that weren't lit!

Nothing!

Nothing!

NOTHING!

_**BA-BOM BA-BOM BA-BOM BA-BOM BA-BOM BA-BOM BA-BOM**_

Rumiko fell to a fetal position, eyes shut tight.

Her poor mind raced so bad, her body couldn't hold still. _'Dad! Help me! PLEASE, HELP ME!'_

..._THUD_.

She slowly opened her eyes. They focused on the elevator doors, which had finally closed.

Then their attention moved to the hat-less Shy Guy standing before her, watching her. One that was unlike any creature she had seen before.

Its robes were a deathly black; its boots a dark, shadowy purple. Its bone-white mask had dried streaks of an inky substance trailing out of its eyeholes. If a regular Shy Guy's eyes were like an endless void, then **these** eyes were like a void staring back. No, more like one that melted everything around it.

Rumiko was too scared to scream, or even sweat. The most she could let out was whispery breaths. She kept her back against a wall, facing the thing. She didn't dare look away.

A minute-long eternity later, the Shy Guy pressed the "2" button, and the elevator started to move. When it got to the 2nd floor, it made its usual _DING_, before opening its doors.

She watched the Shy Guy walk out, each step making a distinctive _**BA-BOM**_. The doors closed again.

* * *

**Challenge Event begins in 4 Days; 13 Hours; 30 Minutes.**

* * *

**To Be Continued**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Hey, everybody! Kept you waiting, huh?**

**Sorry you've had to wait so long for this one chapter. Thing is, my laptop's hard drive had to be replaced several months ago, and I had lost nearly all my files pertaining to this story (even the documents for my own characters).**

**This, PLUS all the awful things 2020 has given us, tanked my motivation. I haven't been feeling like my usual self, so I needed a big vacation from writing to help fix my mental state.**

**I'm feeling a lot better now, but I cannot promise future updates to be frequent. With all sorts of life-stuff (like job-hunting), I've realized that this story is something I can only tackle at my own pace. The next chapter will be ready whenever it's ready. I can only hope you all are still invested in it when that time comes.**

**If there are any FTEs you'd really like to see, please don't hesitate to send them my way. They would help a ton, since I lost a bunch of them with my files.**

**Until then, I'll catch you all next time! Love you lots! =D**

* * *

**Author's Replies:**

**logal**

_It makes me so happy to see you enjoy everything so far. I'm exicted to get that list of FTEs! I know each one you send will be amazing!_

**Trust Me the Spider**

_I can't wait to read what your eyes catch this time around! It's so fun seeing others spot the little details, and I packed this chapter full of them!_

**TheRoseShadow21**

_Thanks, Rose! I was worried that a one-scene chapter wouldn't work that well, but I'm really glad to know I pulled it off. I hope you liked this chapter as much as the last one._

**Latte-chan**

_Thank you for the wonderful review (and headpats), Latte! There's more Monokame to come! More of every character, really. Even the maids. XD_

**bellatrixshine**

_Thank you, Bella, from the bottom of my heart. I really hope this chapter (and each one after that) meets up to that hype, if not surpass it!_


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